We would like to once again turn the public’s attention to the xenophobic statements and assessments that have assumed a dangerous scale in Georgia’s political discourse and already established themselves as the norm. The Georgian media landscape is pervaded with such rhetoric, which is clearly shown by the results of a number of studies conducted in the corresponding direction.

It is clear that one of the sources of this wicked practice is the political class active in Georgia. The leaders and members of the political parties, unions, and movements, as well as public persons supporting them, despite the officially declared views of their organizations, often base their political rhetoric precisely on xenophobia and hate speech.

All this creates a favorable background for those extremist groups that translate this rhetoric into action. A clear example of this were the events that took place on May 17 and the following days when the day against homophobia and transphobia itself became the day on which homophobia and transphobia were demonstrated.

In order to overcome the aforementioned problems, we consider it necessary that the civil sector unite under the idea of struggle against xenophobia, so that a unified civil platform is created. In the aforementioned format, it will be possible to carry out effective monitoring (and, if necessary, response) on every single fact of using this rhetoric, on the one hand, and to contribute to correct formation of public opinion, on the other hand.

We consider it necessary that the political unions active in Georgia create or strengthen inter-party mechanisms which will ensure that all kinds of manifestations of xenophobia are eradicated in political activity. At the same time, we express our readiness to actively support political organizations in cooperating with the civil sector in this direction.