OSCE partners present Democracy Defenders Award to the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association

Eight OSCE partners have presented the 2025 Democracy Defender Award to the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) for its ‘efforts to protect democracy, human rights, the rule of law, and due process for Georgians since 1994’.

The award was established in 2016 to recognise the ‘enormous contribution civil society makes to defending and promoting democracy’ within the OSCE region. In particular, the award honours contributions made to upholding the principles of the Helsinki Final Act, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

The award recipient was announced on Tuesday by the UK on behalf of the delegations of Canada, Denmark, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, and the US.

‘The GYLA is providing essential support to human rights activists and civil society organisations in Georgia who are coming under increasing pressure from repressive legislation’, the UK Minister for Europe, North America, and UK Overseas Territories, Stephen Doughty, said in his congratulatory statement that day.

Doughty then went on to highlight the ‘months of democratic backsliding, arbitrary arrests, and the use of excessive force against protestors, politicians and journalists’ by the ruling Georgian Dream party, stating that there has been ‘no indication’ Georgian Dream will return to their European path, nor that the party will uphold the Georgian electorate’s democratic desires.

‘I urge the Georgian authorities to reverse this isolationist behaviour, and I thank the GYLA for their important work protecting the fundamental rights of Georgian people’, Doughty concluded.

A statement published by the GYLA following the award announcement noted that such international support was ‘of particular significance amid the ongoing shrinking of civil society space in Georgia, where the ruling party “Georgian Dream” strives to establish authoritarianism’.

‘In such circumstances, international support is a powerful boost for [the] GYLA to continue its strengthened fight for human rights and the protection of democracy’, the statement continued.

The GYLA’s chair Nona Kurdovanidze accepted the award on behalf of the association, stating that ‘this recognition belongs to all in Georgia risking their safety to defend democracy, human rights, and the rule of law’.

Since its foundation in 1994, the GYLA has provided over 1.3 million instances of free legal aid and consultations. Throughout the ongoing protests against the Georgian government’s EU U-turn, the GYLA has been working to record human rights violations and provide support for detained protesters.