OSCE’s Moscow Mechanism invoked following concerns about implementation of international human rights obligations by the Georgian authorities

Twenty-three OSCE participating States invoked the OSCE’s Moscow Mechanism on 29 January 2026 “to assess Georgia’s implementation of its OSCE commitments, with a particular focus on developments since spring 2024”. 

The Moscow Mechanism, last invoked on 24 July 2025 in relation to Ukraine, provides the opportunity for OSCE participating States to send missions of experts to assist in the resolution of a particular question or problem relating to the human dimension of the OSCE. Further information is available here.

This is the first Moscow Mechanism that has been invoked in connection with Georgia. In December 2024, 38 participating States invoked the OSCE Vienna Mechanism to express concern about developments in Georgia and request more information. Even after Georgia’s response, these concerns only increased.

More specifically, the tasks of this Moscow Mechanism mission of experts will include to: “Document recent developments in Georgia in respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms; assess the impact of these developments including for Georgian civil society, freedom of the media, the rule of law and independence of the judiciary, political pluralism and other structural components of a democratic society which underpin the OSCE’s comprehensive definition of security; and provide recommendations on how to address matters of concern.”

Any information relevant to the present mission can be sent to the following email address: moscowmechanism-georgia@odihr.pl. The information will then be forwarded to the expert mission, once established.

The 23 participating States that have invoked the Moscow Mechanism in this case are: Albania, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Moldova, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia, Sweden, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.