The osce delegation’s visit to georgia in march 2026 was marked by a significant setback. Despite prior efforts to arrange meetings, the international group was denied access to detained protesters during their stay. This occurred shortly after the osce’s Moscow mechanism was activated, establishing a fact-finding mission to investigate alleged democratic regression within the country.
The mechanism, initiated in january 2026, represented its inaugural use in the south caucasus region. A key point of contention prior to the visit involved the possibility of meeting imprisoned individuals, particularly those arrested during protests against the ruling Georgian dream party. Following the trip, delegation head Pere Joan Pons Sampietro stated that the georgian government had refused their requests to visit prisoners.
He explained that they had communicated their desire to meet with individuals, including journalist Mzia Amaghlobeli, the Sakharov Prize winner, to Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, the President Mikheil Kavelashvili, the Minister of Internal Affairs Gela Galadze, and the Speaker of Parliament Shalva Papuashvili, all of whom responded with a denial. While osce parliamentary assembly delegations typically operate with considerable autonomy in arranging meetings, visits to correctional facilities require local authority approval. One delegate ultimately decided not to support the trip when it became clear that a pre-arranged meeting with prisoners could not be confirmed.
The delegation, comprised of Luís Graça, Jevrosima Pejović, Christine Blower, and Roberto Montella, Secretary General of the osce Parliamentary Assembly, also met with georgian officials and visited the administrative boundary line with south ossetia. Previous planned visits had faced controversy, leading to a postponement and eventual arrangement several months later. The georgian foreign ministry has not yet responded to requests for comment.
Topics: #osce #delegation #georgia
