A resolution urging all parties in Georgia to seek prompt implementation of the agreement signed on April 19, 2021, and reaffirming the support of the Senate for Georgia, the territorial integrity of Georgia, and the aspirations of Georgians to join the Euro-Atlantic community.

III Calendar No. 94 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. RES. 176 Urging all parties in Georgia to seek prompt implementation of the agreement signed on April 19, 2021, and reaffirming the support of the Senate for Georgia, the territorial integrity of Georgia, and the aspirations of Georgians to join the Euro-Atlantic community. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 22, 2021 Mr. JOHNSON (for himself, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. RISCH, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, and Mr. BARRASSO) submitted the following resolution; which was re- ferred to the Committee on Foreign Relations JUNE 24, 2021 Reported by Mr. MENENDEZ, with an amendment and an amendment to the preamble and an amendment to the title [Strike out all after the resolving clause and insert the part printed in italic] [Strike the preamble and insert the part printed in italic] RESOLUTION Urging all parties in Georgia to seek prompt implementation of the agreement signed on April 19, 2021, and reaffirm- ing the support of the Senate for Georgia, the territorial integrity of Georgia, and the aspirations of Georgians to join the Euro-Atlantic community. Whereas, on April 9, 1991, Georgia declared independence from the Soviet Union, and on March 24, 1992, the VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:16 Jun 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR176.RS SR176 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •SRES 176 RS United States and Georgia established formal diplomatic relations; Whereas, since 1993, the territorial integrity of Georgia has been reaffirmed by the international community and nu- merous United Nations Security Council resolutions; Whereas, at the 2008 Summit in Bucharest, the North At- lantic Treaty Organization (NATO) recognized the aspi- rations of Georgia to join NATO and agreed that Georgia would become a member of the Alliance; Whereas, on January 9, 2009, the United States and Georgia signed the United States-Georgia Charter on Strategic Partnership, affirming the close relationship between the United States and Georgia based on the shared principles of democracy, free markets, defense and security coopera- tion, and cultural exchanges; Whereas Georgia has made significant contributions to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and remains the largest troop contributor among NATO partners to the NATO- led Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan; Whereas the United States supports the sovereignty and ter- ritorial integrity of Georgia within its internationally rec- ognized borders and condemns the continued occupation by the Russian Federation of the Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia; Whereas, in March 2020, the United States and several em- bassies of European countries in Georgia brokered an agreement among the major political parties in Georgia, which included changes to the electoral system and called on all sides to address the appearance of political inter- ference in the judicial system; VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:16 Jun 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR176.RS SR176 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •SRES 176 RS Whereas, on June 29, 2020, the Parliament of Georgia adopted constitutional amendments, establishing a more proportional electoral system and promoting greater polit- ical pluralism in future parliaments; Whereas the United States Embassy in Tbilisi applauded Georgia’s electoral reforms and urged the Parliament of Georgia to pass additional legislation that fully incor- porates all of the recommendations of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Orga- nization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE/ ODIHR) and urged Georgian authorities to effectively implement such legislation; Whereas, on October 31, 2020, Georgia held its first par- liamentary elections since adopting the electoral reforms in June 2020; Whereas the OSCE/ODIHR limited election observation team detailed a number of flaws and partially or completely unimplemented OSCE/ODIHR recommendations, but also concluded that the first round of the October 2020 parliamentary elections in Georgia was ‘‘competitive and, overall, fundamental freedoms were respected’’; Whereas the United States Embassy in Tbilisi shared the OSCE/ODIHR’s assessment of the first round of elec- tions and stressed the importance of fully addressing the deficiencies noted by the OSCE/ODIHR Limited Election Observation Mission Preliminary Report before the sec- ond round of elections in November 2020; Whereas the Georgian opposition refused to recognize the le- gitimacy of the October 2020 elections, boycotted the sec- ond round of elections, called for public voter intimida- VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:16 Jun 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR176.RS SR176 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •SRES 176 RS tion of anyone voting in the second round of elections, and declined to take their seats in parliament; Whereas, on February 23, 2021, Georgian authorities entered the headquarters of United National Movement (UNM) and arrested its leader Nikanor Melia on a bail violation; Whereas, on March 23, 2021, the Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate held a hearing on Geor- gia to examine the political situation and to highlight the actions that the Government of Georgia and the opposi- tion could take in order to resolve the impasse and move the country forward; Whereas, in that hearing, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State George Kent testified that the Russian Federation uses its illegal occupation of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, ‘‘economic leverage, cyber attacks, and disinformation to try to force Georgia to abandon its Euro-Atlantic aspira- tions and to sow division and distrust’’; Whereas, at the same hearing, Deputy Assistant Secretary Kent testified, ‘‘Georgia has real work to do in strength- ening its democracy . . . Georgia’s commitment to de- mocracy and the rule of law is a fundamental element of our strategic relationship, as well as the precondition for the country’s further progress.’’; and Whereas international mediation efforts to resolve the polit- ical impasse in Georgia led to an agreement signed on April 19, 2021, by representatives of several political par- ties and individual Members of Parliament: Now, there- fore, be it Whereas, on April 9, 1991, Georgia declared independence from the Soviet Union, and on March 24, 1992, the United VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:16 Jun 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR176.RS SR176 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •SRES 176 RS States and Georgia established formal diplomatic rela- tions; Whereas, since 1993, the territorial integrity of Georgia has been reaffirmed by the international community and nu- merous United Nations Security Council resolutions; Whereas, at the 2008 Summit in Bucharest, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) recognized the aspirations of Georgia to join NATO and agreed that Georgia would be- come a member of the Alliance; Whereas, on January 9, 2009, the United States and Georgia signed the United States-Georgia Charter on Strategic Partnership, affirming the close relationship between the United States and Georgia based on the shared principles of democracy, free markets, defense and security coopera- tion, and cultural exchanges; Whereas Georgia has made significant contributions to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and was the largest troop contributor among NATO partners to the NATO-led Reso- lute Support Mission in Afghanistan; Whereas the United States supports the sovereignty and terri- torial integrity of Georgia within its internationally recog- nized borders and condemns the continued occupation by the Russian Federation of the Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia; Whereas, in March 2020, the United States and several embas- sies of European countries in Georgia brokered an agree- ment among the major political parties in Georgia, which included changes to the electoral system and called on all sides to address the appearance of political interference in the judicial system; VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:16 Jun 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR176.RS SR176 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •SRES 176 RS Whereas, on June 29, 2020, the Parliament of Georgia adopted constitutional amendments, establishing a more propor- tional electoral system and promoting greater political pluralism in future parliaments; Whereas the United States Embassy in Tbilisi applauded Georgia’s electoral reforms and urged the Parliament of Georgia to pass additional legislation that fully incor- porates all of the recommendations of the Office for Demo- cratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE/ODIHR) and urged Georgian authorities to effectively implement such legislation; Whereas, on October 31, 2020, Georgia held its first parliamen- tary elections since adopting the electoral reforms in June 2020; Whereas the OSCE/ODIHR limited election observation team detailed a number of flaws and partially or completely unimplemented OSCE/ODIHR recommendations, but also concluded that the first round of the October 2020 par- liamentary elections in Georgia was ‘‘competitive and, overall, fundamental freedoms were respected’’; Whereas the United States Embassy in Tbilisi shared the OSCE/ODIHR’s assessment of the first round of elections and stressed the importance of fully addressing the defi- ciencies noted by the OSCE/ODIHR Limited Election Ob- servation Mission Preliminary Report before the second round of elections in November 2020; Whereas the Georgian opposition refused to recognize the legit- imacy of the October 2020 elections, boycotted the second round of elections, called for public voter intimidation of VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:16 Jun 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR176.RS SR176 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •SRES 176 RS anyone voting in the second round of elections, and de- clined to take their seats in parliament; Whereas, on February 23, 2021, Georgian authorities entered the headquarters of the United National Movement (UNM) and arrested its leader Nikanor Melia on a bail violation; Whereas, on March 23, 2021, the Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation of the Committee on For- eign Relations of the Senate held a hearing on Georgia to examine the political situation and to highlight the actions that the Government of Georgia and the opposition could take in order to resolve the impasse and move the country forward; Whereas, in that hearing, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State George Kent testified that the Russian Federation uses its illegal occupation of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, ‘‘eco- nomic leverage, cyber attacks, and disinformation to try to force Georgia to abandon its Euro-Atlantic aspirations and to sow division and distrust’’; Whereas, at the same hearing, Deputy Assistant Secretary Kent testified, ‘‘Georgia has real work to do in strength- ening its democracy . . . Georgia’s commitment to democ- racy and the rule of law is a fundamental element of our strategic relationship, as well as the precondition for the country’s further progress.’’; Whereas international mediation efforts to resolve the political impasse in Georgia led to an agreement signed on April 19, 2021, by representatives of several political parties and individual Members of Parliament; and Whereas Georgian authorities pardoned opposition figure Giorgi Rurua, and Nikanor Melia was released on bail VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:16 Jun 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR176.RS SR176 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •SRES 176 RS while awaiting final passage of an amnesty bill, in line with the April 19 agreement: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Senate— 1 (1) calls on Georgian Dream, United National 2 Movement, and the other parties elected to the Par- 3 liament of Georgia to fully implement the com- 4 promise proposed by European Council President 5 Michel on April 18, 2021, and signed on April 19, 6 2021; 7 (2) calls on all elected Members of Parliament 8 to take their seats in parliament and begin work 9 without further delay on the challenges facing Geor- 10 gia, including consequences of the COVID–19 pan- 11 demic, a weakened economy, and challenging re- 12 gional dynamics; 13 (3) calls on the Government of Georgia to insti- 14 tute systemic reforms, developed through an inclu- 15 sive and transparent consultation process with stake- 16 holders, to ensure that the judicial system is impar- 17 tial and independent and not used for political or 18 partisan ends, including by fully adopting and imple- 19 menting the recommendations of the European Com- 20 mission for Democracy through Law (commonly 21 known as the ‘‘Venice Commission’’) and other ex- 22 perts; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:16 Jun 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\SR176.RS SR176 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •SRES 176 RS (4) calls on the Government of Georgia to insti- 1 tute inclusively and transparently developed systemic 2 electoral reforms to address the underlying causes of 3 the political impasse and avoid a recurrence of such 4 a crisis, including by fully adopting and imple- 5 menting the recommendations of the Office for 6 Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the 7 Organization for Security and Co-operation in Eu- 8 rope (OSCE/ODIHR); 9 (5) recognizes that the political situation in 10 Georgia has been exacerbated by the efforts of the 11 Russian Federation to sow chaos throughout Geor- 12 gia, including the illegally occupied territories of 13 Abkhazia and South Ossetia; 14 (6) expresses concern that impediments to 15 strengthening Georgia’s democratic institutions and 16 processes will slow its progress toward achieving its 17 aspiration of Euro-Atlantic integration and strength- 18 ening its economy and could result in conditions 19 placed on United States assistance to Georgia; and 20 (7) emphasizes that the United States supports 21 a more robust democracy in Georgia, with governing 22 institutions that demonstrate integrity, checks and 23 balances, transparency, the capacity to counter Rus- 24 sian and other malign influence, and the ability to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:16 Jun 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\SR176.RS SR176 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •SRES 176 RS achieve the Euro-Atlantic aspirations of the people 1 of Georgia. 2 That the Senate— 3 (1) welcomes the decision by most political par- 4 ties in Georgia to sign the agreement mediated under 5 the auspice [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]