Written question asked by Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party) on Tuesday, 15 October 2024, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 17 October 2024. It was answered by Stephen Doughty (Labour) on Tuesday, 22 October 2024 on behalf of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

Transcaucasus: Human Rights

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of (a) human rights conditions and (b) respect for international law in the South Caucasus.

Answer: Long-term human rights concerns persist across the whole South Caucasus region. The UK Government regularly raises human rights obligations and commitments with the Governments of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, as well as discussing such matters with international counterparts. For example, I [Minister Doughty] spoke to Georgian Foreign Minister Darchiashvili on 9 October. I shared with him my deep concerns about the negative implications of Georgia's recent laws on Transparency and Foreign Influence and on Family Values and highlighted our concerns regarding the pressures being applied to civil society which undermine the Georgian people's ambition for a modern, inclusive and Euro-Atlantic future.

Secondary information