Georgia's Parliament approves amendments on racial and religious intolerance

Today, the Georgian MPs have approved – in the third and final reading – amendments to several legislative acts, according to which the racial, language, religious, national or ethnic intolerance becomes an aggravating circumstance of a crime.

Also, the sexual and political intolerance has become an aggravating circumstance of a crime; thus, the MPs have taken into account the initiative of the NGO "Young Lawyers' Association of Georgia", the IA "News-Georgia" reports.

"The aim of the law on amendments, adopted in line with the guidance of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance, is to force the criminal legislation to consider the motive of racial intolerance as an aggravating circumstance of committed crimes," says the note to the bill.

Unlike the original version, the finally adopted general provision has an essentially broader list of motives. In particular, aggravating circumstances of a crime may be "the intolerance based on one's race, skin colour, language, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, religion, political or other viewpoints, citizenship, national, ethnic or social affiliation, origin, property or official status, place of residence or other discriminatory grounds," the "Georgia Online" writes.

The amendments will take effect after publication on the website named "The Legislative Gazette of Georgia."