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Millennium Development Goals in Georgia

The price of freedom has been high for many poor people across the countries of the former Soviet Union, nowhere more so than in Georgia where a combination of civil wars and economic liberalisation caused a collapse in the economy through the 1990s. Due to these exceptional circumstances, the baseline for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) has been moved back from 1990 to 2000 at which point the measure of extreme poverty was 14.3% whilst the proportion below the poverty line was 51.8%. These figures became worse rather than better in the years immediately following the millennium but the basis for calculating the poverty line has changed and the latest figure is believed to be around 35%. Of particular concern in the context of the MDGs is that the extent of extreme poverty may still be increasing, especially in rural areas where 40%-50% of the population is dependent on subsistence agriculture. The elderly form another particularly vulnerable group.

7th grade students in Georgia © Liko Chikhladze / UNESCO / ASPnet

Even in education and health, where the Soviet legacy was highly regarded, there is decline. Although gender parity in educational enrolment has survived, the quality of education is the cause of increasing concern. And infant and child mortality rates are uncomfortably high. Georgia's ranking in the UNDP Human Development Index remains significantly below most of the transitional countries in the region and it is clear that the government has given greater priority to headline economic growth than poverty reduction strategies - indeed there is no formal long term plan for achieving the MDGs. In his re-election speeches in early 2008 the President has promised immediate pro-poverty actions associated with the slogan “Georgia Without Poverty”. There is reference to an accountable new commission but none of these initiatives yet refers to quantifiable targets which might be recognised as consistent with the MDGs.

Politics in Georgia

Elections in Georgia © OSCE

This neglect of social welfare is one of the reasons why President Mikhail Saakashvili is now faced with popular unrest which bears uncanny similarity to the circumstances which brought him to power. The government of his predecessor, Eduard Shevardnadze, experienced increasing public criticism for widespread poverty, corruption and crime and was toppled in November 2003 following mass demonstrations over alleged ballot rigging in parliamentary elections. This event, now known as the Rose Revolution, was orchestrated by the then opposition leader, Mikhail Saakashvili, who was elected president in January 2004 with around 96% of the vote.

Inevitably, some of the gloss of popularity has worn off the young president who is criticised for introducing changes which strengthen rather than devolve the power of his office. The overwhelming majority enjoyed by his National Movement party in parliament precludes reasoned consideration of opposition views. Although amendments to the constitution approved by parliament at the end of 2006 have removed the power of the president to appoint judges, there remains a lack of public confidence in the legal system. Likewise, whilst tough measures against corruption and tax evasion have caused the downfall and imprisonment of many senior figures, the president and his elite have been unable to shake off suspicion of graft.

Georgian presidential candidates 2008 © Eurasianet (Open Society Institute)

The culmination of these concerns was an outbreak of sustained public protest in November 2007 which forced Saakashvili to declare a state of emergency and agree to bring forward presidential elections by several months to January 2008. Despite the divided opposition uniting around a single candidate, Levan Gachechiladze, the president secured a convincing first round win with 53.5% of the vote. International observers pronounced the election to be broadly free and fair but the opposition refused to accept the legitimacy of Saakashvili on the ground of election fraud, accusations which have rekindled angry demonstrations. The atmosphere remains tense in the build up to parliamentary elections which have also been brought forward to May 2008.

When President Saakashvili was an activist in opposition to the previous government, civil society was relatively strong and effective. Now with many of the President's former NGO colleagues recruited into government positions, civil society is struggling a little to find its political voice. A frustrating legacy of the communist era in Georgia is the reluctance of citizens to develop a culture of volunteering which could be a vital element in restoring civil society.
Conflict in Georgia

The breakup of the Soviet Union provided the opportunity for two regions within Georgia to flex their own muscles. Conflicts between the Georgian Army and armed groups of separatists in Abkhazia and South Ossetia have resulted in deaths of thousands of people and displaced more than 300,000 civilians. A fragile peace has held in both regions in recent years thanks in part to the UN Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) in Abkhazia and Russian forces patrolling South Ossetia.

Bush and Georgia © Radio Netherlands Wereldomroep

An uncomfortable backdrop to these "frozen conflicts" is the relationship between Georgia and Russia which has always been tense. Reasons include the latter’s continuous support for the separatist regions alongside deep distrust of Georgia’s application to join NATO which has been strongly supported in a public referendum and which reaches a crucial stage in April 2008. A further awkward complication was Russia's perception of the Pankisi Gorge in Georgia as a safe haven for Chechen rebels. Russia has finally closed its two remaining military bases in Georgia itself but tensions remain over the peacekeeping role of Russian troops. In 2006 a diplomatic incident led to Russia imposing a transport blockade and other sanctions, and the expulsion of hundreds of Georgians from its territory.

Saakashvili has placed comprehensive peace plans on the table for Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the latter formally endorsed by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). In the absence of any progress, Saakashvili established a Temporary Administrative Unit in April 2007 in the areas of South Ossetia occupied by Georgians, encouraging the leader, Dmitri Sanakoyev, to seek peace on behalf of all Ossetians.

Both peace plans offer autonomy within a federal structure. The two separatist regions favour independence and have elected their own unofficial governments. Drawing comparison with the independence of Kosovo, a linkage condemned by Saakashvili, they have both appealed to the UN and other international bodies for recognition. This is unlikely to be forthcoming but Russia has indicated its support. Meanwhile these regional economies are decimated, condemning the majority of their people to acute poverty. And defence spending gobbles up a third of Georgia’s national budget, constraining much needed social welfare programmes.
Human Rights in Georgia

State of emergency declared in Georgia © Alexander Klimchuk / Eurasianet (Open Society Institute)

The harsh measures adopted to end the November protests, which resulted in over 500 people requiring hospital treatment, together with the state of emergency ban on assembly and blackout on news media, have severely dented Georgia’s image as a beacon of democracy and human rights amongst the former Soviet states. Saakashvili’s claim that his actions were compelled by the threat of an imminent coup plotted by Russia, have not been supported with evidence.

Until this point, recognition of human rights in Georgia had improved since the Rose Revolution, notably in respect of religious tolerance, but with some concerns remaining. Under immense international pressure to root out corruption, the government sometimes resorted to harsh measures which, together with over zealous action against organized crimes, has attracted criticism of international human rights groups. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, has also expressed concern about the continuing neglect of citizens’ rights of almost 250,000 people displaced by the civil wars.

Problems also remain with the penitentiary system where the prisons are overcrowded. In March 2006, several inmates died in clashes with security officials and The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe has called for an independent investigation into the events. Prisoners continue to live in terrible conditions. Another difficult area to address is the culture of violence against women which is thought to be commonplace and conducted with impunity. In 2006 a new law was introduced which may offer some support to victims of domestic violence.
The Economy in Georgia

The country has strong economic potential because of its competitive labor force, good natural resources, and strategic location between Europe and the land-locked countries of Central Asia, and between Russia and the Middle East. The Saakashvili government attracts international acclaim for transforming the cumbersome Soviet system into a modern open market economy able to exploit this potential. A frantic programme of privatization, managed by the charismatic Minister of Economic Reform, Kakha Bendukidze, even extends to the proposal to sell all the country’s hospitals for development, building new private facilities with the proceeds. However, the Minister has lost his job in the new government, his programme having run into the sand in terms of completed sales, held back by concerns about transparency and about loss of sovereignty to Russian business interests. Nevertheless, the 2007 World Bank annual survey proclaims Georgia to be the 18th most friendly country in the world for business, remarkably a higher position than France or Germany.

This zeal for liberal reform has not only brought much unemployment in its wake and also has excluded agriculture which continues to account for about a third of the economy, engaging half of the population. The sector is trapped in poverty by the small average size of farms and lack of investment. Russian economic sanctions have been a further blow.

These sanctions may however rebound on the Russians whose application to join the World Trade Organisation (WTO) is now blocked by none other than Georgia, the single country yet to endorse the application. Georgia joined the WTO as long ago as 2000 but conventional benefits of membership have not yet rewarded the majority of the population.
The Environment in Georgia

Oil pipeline in Georgia

In Georgia the overriding environmental concern is a new pipeline opened in 2005 - built by BP along with other oil companies - that runs through Georgia from the offshore oil fields of Azerbaijan in the Caspian Sea to the southern shores of Turkey on the Mediterranean. Starting near Baku in Azerbaijan, running close to Tbilisi in Georgia, and finishing south of Ceyhan in Turkey, it is known as the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline. Conceived by the United States as a means of bypassing Iran and Russia, the pipeline is supported by the international financial community but consistently opposed by environmental organizations around the world. BP appears to be willing to throw millions of comfort dollars at social regeneration projects and the Georgian government says it is satisfied with reassurances received from BP over accusations about safety and environmental damage.



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Misha Kechakmadze has worked in Georgia for local and international organizations for several years. He holds a master's degree in Political Science from Central European University, Budapest, Hungary.
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