Last week, US Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Jim Risch (R-ID), Chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, introduced the Mobilizing and Enhancing Georgia’s Options for Building Accountability, Resilience, and Independence (MEGOBARI) Act. This bipartisan legislation supports the people of Georgia as their government continues its violent assaults on peaceful protestors and reaffirms US support for Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic integration.
“I am pleased to re-introduce this bipartisan, bicameral legislation with Chairman Risch to support the Georgian people in the face of the Georgian Dream government’s constitutional violations and violence against peaceful protestors,” said Ranking Member Shaheen. “The Georgian people have made clear their Euro-Atlantic aspirations, and the US must continue to support them against Georgian Dream efforts to erode their democratic institutions. At a time when Russia seeks to undermine democracies across the region, we cannot turn our backs on a key partner striving for a free and democratic future. I look forward to working with Chairman Risch to expeditiously move this bill through the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.”
“Friends of Georgia from around the world have been shocked and dismayed by the government’s descent into authoritarianism and the violent crackdown on pro-democracy protestors,” said Chairman Risch. “This bill will send a strong message that the US supports the Georgian people as they struggle for the right to self-determination and will give the US tools to help Georgians restore fairness to their political system.”
The MEGOBARI Act will:
- Initiate a complete review of the US–Georgia relationship, including all assistance programs
- Recognize the Georgian people’s support for the country’s constitutionally enshrined commitment to Euro-Atlantic accession processes
- Require the President to impose sanctions on Georgian Dream officials and their enablers who have engaged in corruption to derail Georgia’s Euro Atlantic integration, and outlines criteria for the President to sanction those who undermined Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity or have engaged in other corrupt acts detrimental to stability in Georgia
- Bolster people-to-people ties and defense cooperation when Georgia realigns itself with its own Constitutional requirements
- Express support for Georgia’s full sovereignty and territorial integrity amid continued and illegal Russian occupation
- Support civil society, which has worked to defend the Georgian people and the Georgian Constitution from Georgian Dream government abuses.
The bill was first introduced on May 23 last year in the United States House of Representatives. On January 4 this year, Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) and Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), Congressmen and back-then chairs of the Helsinki Commission reintroduced the bill.
The MEGOBARI Act establishes sanctions against Georgian authorities in response to widespread human rights violations and democratic regression. It also requires US government agencies to report to Congress on Russian intelligence operations and sanctions evasion activities within Georgia.
The legislation underscores the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party’s increasingly adversarial approach toward Western allies and civil society, while simultaneously pursuing a conciliatory stance toward Moscow. It envisions US support for Georgia’s democratic development through election monitoring aimed at fostering a fair pre-election environment, security assistance, and potential economic incentives linked to democratic reforms.
The bill’s progression comes at a time when Georgia’s relations with the United States and the European Union are at a historic low. The GD government, which continues to govern without opposition in a diminished parliament, faces mounting criticism, with its honorary chairman, Bidzina Ivanishvili, sanctioned by the US for actions that undermine democracy and serve Moscow’s interests.
Tensions escalated in late November 2024, when the Georgian Dream government halted the country’s EU accession process and violently dispersed pro-EU demonstrations. Key officials, including Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri and Deputy Head of the Special Tasks Department Mirza Kezevadze, have been sanctioned for their roles in the brutal suppression of protests, accused of employing tactics such as mass beatings, verbal abuse, and threats of sexual violence against journalists, demonstrators, and opposition figures.
Related story: MEGOBARI Act reportedly to be discussed in US Senate next week
