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Ethnic minorities in Georgia (country)

March 26, 2023

The main ethnic minorities in Georgia are Azerbaijanis, Armenians, Ukrainians, Russians, Greeks, Abkhazians, Ossetians, Kists, Assyrians and Yazidi.

Ethnic minorities

According to the "National Integration and Tolerance in Georgia Assessment Survey Report" 2007–2008,[1] implemented by the UN Association of Georgia and supported by USAID, the following ethnic groups are living in Georgia:

Ethnic groups Total population
Total 4,371,535
Georgians 3,661,173
Azerbaijanis 284,761
Armenians 248,929
Russians 67,671
Ossetians ~60,000
Yazidis 18,329
Greeks 15,166
Kists 7,110
Ukrainians 7,039
Abkhazians 125,567
Assyrians 4,000

Historical background

Georgia's ethnic composition varied from one historical epoch to another and this happened as the result of certain economic, political or social factors. Georgian academic Vakhtang Jaoshvili identified four major stages in the history of Georgia that influenced the ethnic composition of Georgia: from medieval times to the late 18th century; from the 19th century to the 1921 Soviet invasion of Georgia; from 1921 to the collapse of the USSR; and present days, starting with the Georgian declaration of independence.

As Georgia during medieval times remained the victim of military aggression coming from its neighbors, its territories near the borders were often abandoned by Georgians, and the vacated areas were occupied by other ethnic groups. In the 15th century Muslims populations moved to the Kvemo Kartli province. In this era, Ossetians also moved from Northern Caucasus, settling in Georgia. By the early 19th century Georgians made up only four-fifths of the total population.

In the beginning of the 19th century a big influx of foreign populations were deliberately settled in Georgia. In 1832 Georgians were 75.9 percent of total population in comparison to the 79,4 percent in 1800. This was determined by the Russian Empire establishing its rule over Georgia, replacing the Georgians populations near the borders with other ethnic groups because of economical or military interests. In the beginning of the 19th century Russia forced Muslim Georgians to move from Samtskhe-Javakheti to the Ottoman Empire, replacing them with Armenians who were encouraged by Russia to leave Iran and Turkey through the 1828 Treaty of Turkmenchay and the 1829 Treaty of Adrianople as signed respectively with the two.[2][3] In 1830 the number of Armenians settlers reached 35,000. By 1830 18 Greek settlements appeared in Georgia as well. In addition Georgia also remained a potential place of residence for Russian demoralized soldiers and religious sects like Dukhobors. During World War I Kurds and Assyrians also settled in Georgia.

Under Soviet rule Georgia received a massive influx of immigrants, especially Ukrainians, Russians, Ossetians and Armenians. In addition, the increase of the birth rate among Jews, Azerbaijanis or other ethnic groups led to a significant decrease in ethnic Georgians and by 1939, for the first time in the history of Georgia, Georgians were less than two-thirds of the whole population. This decrease was contrasted by the emigration of Georgians, many of whom not ethnically Georgians, after the end of World War II. By 1979 the share of Georgians was 62.1 percent in urban areas and 75.7 percent in rural areas. The collapse of the Soviet Union had a similar effect, causing emigration from Georgia, especially from war zones in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Thus, ethnic minorities in 1989 constituted 30 percent of total population, and by 2002 this number had dropped to 16 percent.[4]

Ethnic minorities in Georgia today

Georgia is, to this day, ethnically diverse. The government worked out special plans for the integration of ethnic minorities into the society. In August 2005 the Georgian government established the Civil Integration and Tolerance Council. Its main function was to study the issue of tolerance towards ethnic minorities and their level of their participation to society. The council defined six main priority areas for the development of policies, and consequently created six working groups inside the council: Rule of Law; Education; Culture; Social and Regional Integration of Society; Media; Civic Participation;

Rule of law

As a member of the international community Georgia has ratified several international agreements providing guarantees for ethnic minorities living on the territory of Georgia. Following is a list of such agreements, followed by the date of ratification by Georgia:

The constitution of Georgia also recognizes the equal rights of every citizen regardless of race, colour, language, sex, religion, ethnic origin or nationality. Any violation of the equality of citizens is punishable under the Georgian law.

Education

According to the Georgian Law on General Education every citizen of Georgia has a right on receiving secondary education in their native language if Georgian is not their native language. In addition it is also obligatory to teach state language in schools. As of 2008, the Georgian government funded:[5]

In order to provide equal opportunity for every citizen of Georgia to receive higher education in 2008, for the first time the national examination in general skills was conducted in Azerbaijani and Armenian languages as well.

In 2005 the Zurab Zhvania School of Public Administration was founded with the assistance of President and State in order to implement and promote democratic values in regional governmental and self-governmental institutions, and to improve the quality of social services and civil service. The school focuses on the preparation of civil servants and on the promotion of the teaching of Georgian language to ethnic minorities.

Social and regional integration of society

The Georgian government identified the decrease of unemployment in the regions inhabited by ethnic minorities as fundamental to their integration in society. With this goal, it has economically promoted the local businesses. In total 6,941,500 GEL has been provided for such projects as re-equipment of wood processing, development of construction material producing, honey production, and so on, in the regions inhabited by ethnic minorities.

Media

The Georgian Public Broadcasting (GPB) is the only media source legally obliged to broadcast in minority languages. On March 21, 2008 the Georgian parliament changed the Law on Broadcasting and GPB was obliged to spend at least 25% of its budget on programs related to South Ossetia and Abkhazia as well as on programs concerning ethnic minorities.

In order to allow ethnic minorities living in Georgia to be well informed about events taking place in the country the GPB news program "Moambe" is aired in different languages: Abkhazian, Ossetian, Russian, Armenian, Azerbaijani and Kurdish. Since 2007 a 50-minute weekly radio bridge is held in conjunction with Baku and Yerevan.

Since June 2, 2007 the talk show Italian Yard has been aired on GPB. Its main aim is to promote dialogue among ethnic minorities living in Georgia and to encourage their successful integration into society. The show itself is conducted in Georgian and is designed for a wider audience. The format was designed with guidance of American journalist and producer Stan Matthews. The talk show crew acts according to the recommendations by GPB's minority council and considering the result of surveys carried out by the UN association of Georgia and other NGOs. The show crew frequently receives letters from ethnic minorities living in Samtskhe–Javakheti through the post boxes placed in the region. The project of Italian Yard is carried out with the assistance of USAID in the frames of National Integration and Tolerance in Georgia program of the United Nations Association of Georgia.

Civic participation

Apart from participation in elections and to the decision-making process there also should be wider opportunities for civic participation that implies monitoring and consultation. An important step on this way was the memorandum signed on 26 June 2008 between the Civil Integration and Tolerance Council and the Ethnic Minorities Council within Ombudsman's Office.

List of the councils for the support and protection of ethnic minorities in Georgia

  • Council functioning under Patriarchate, founded on 20 June 2005. It consists of representatives of Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, Armenian Apostolic, Evangelical Lutheran and Evangelical Baptist churches as well as Jews and Muslim clerics.
  • Religious Council functioning under the Ombudsman: Founded on 21 June 21, 2005, it consists of representatives of 23 religious groups.
  • Ethnic Minorities Council under the Public Defender of Georgia: More than 80 NGOs are united under this council and are working together on solving diverse issues concerning ethnic minorities.
  • Council functioning under Georgian Public Broadcasting: The council was created under the GPB and deals with issues concerning ethnic minorities, gender equality, religious issues etc. The council creates and presents recommendations to GPB concerning program priorities.

Organizations working on the protection of ethnic minorities in Georgia

  • European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI), founded in 1996 in Germany, is an international organization working in the field of minority governance and conflict resolution. Through action-oriented projects, practice and policy-oriented research, information gathering and documentation, and advisory services, ECMI advances majority-minority relations throughout Europe and its neighbourhood. With its headquarters in Flensburg, Germany – together with its two regional offices based in Tbilisi, Georgia and Priština, Kosovo – ECMI contributes to the strengthening of legislation and best practices in minority governance. Correspondingly, ECMI enhances the capacity of civil society and governments to encourage constructive relations between minorities and states. ECMI has been operating a Caucasus office[6] based in Tbilisi since 2003.
  • UN Association of Georgia: The United Association of Georgia (UNAG) is a non-governmental organization founded on 25 December 1995. It works on the promotion of the development of civil participation and democratic governance, to provide Georgian society with the necessary skills for successful integration into the international community. UNAG has been the member of World Federation of United Nations Associations since 1996. UN Association of Georgia in partnership with Georgian government and financial support of USAID implemented the four-year program National Integration and Tolerance in Georgia (NITG) to promote an increased sense of unity among citizens of Georgian through supporting government of Georgia in formation of national integration strategy and action plan.
  • Caucasus Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development: the CIPDD is an organization that encompasses wide spheres of activities connected with development of democracy in Georgia. Following projects has been implemented by CIPDD: Independent Media in South Caucasus, Supporting Ethnic Minorities for Democratic Political Participation, Improving Environment for ethnic minority integration in Georgia through supporting Reforms in the school education system.
  • ALPE Foundation: is an independent non-governmental organization that pursues professional communication activities aimed at strengthening civil society in Georgia. One of the projects implemented by ALPE is "Fostering Integration through Education and Culture of Tolerance".
  • Open Society Georgia Foundation: Based on its priorities the Open Society Georgia Foundation (OSGF) offers grants to non-profit, non-governmental organizations or individuals in order to promote the values of an open society in Georgia.
  • Liberty Institute: The Liberty Institute is a non-profit, non-partisan organization promoting liberal public policy advocacy. Working in the spheres of freedom of speech, religion etc.
  • Civic Integration Foundation: Civic Integration Foundation (CIF) is a non-governmental, non-profit and non-political organization committed to promotion of civic participation, human rights and civic integration. The main goal of CIF is to assist ethnic minorities integration into society. Among projects implemented by CIF following can be mentioned: Independent Media for Civil Integration; Supporting Ethnic Minorities for Democratic Political Participation; Legal Education as a Way for Successful Integration of National Minorities.

References

  1. ^ "Assessment Survey Report 2007-2008" (PDF). National Integration and Tolerance in Georgia. (PDF) from the original on 2011-07-21.
  2. ^ "Griboedov not only extended protection to those Caucasian captives who sought to go home but actively promoted the return of even those who did not volunteer. Large numbers of Georgian and Armenian captives had lived in Iran since 1804 or as far back as 1795." Fisher, William Bayne;Avery, Peter; Gershevitch, Ilya; Hambly, Gavin; Melville, Charles. The Cambridge History of Iran Cambridge University Press, 1991. p. 339.
  3. ^ (in Russian) A. S. Griboyedov. "Записка о переселеніи армянъ изъ Персіи въ наши области" January 13, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, Фундаментальная Электронная Библиотека
  4. ^ Mamuka, Komakhia. . Diversity.ge. Archived from the original April 14, 2013, at the Wayback Machine on July 21, 2011.
  5. ^ "Tolerance and Civil Integration – State Policy" (PDF). Administration of the President of Georgia. 2008. (PDF) from the original on 2011-07-21.
  6. ^ "ECMI Caucasus - European Centre For Minority Issues Caucasus". ecmicaucasus.org. from the original on 23 September 2017. Retrieved 25 April 2018.

External links

  • UN Association of Georgia Official Website
  • Caucasus Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development
  • ALPE Foundation 2003-11-01 at the Wayback Machine
  • Open Society Georgia Foundation
  • Liberty Institute
  • Civic Integration Foundation

March 26, 2023
ethnic, minorities, georgia, country, main, ethnic, minorities, georgia, azerbaijanis, armenians, ukrainians, russians, greeks, abkhazians, ossetians, kists, assyrians, yazidi, contents, ethnic, minorities, historical, background, ethnic, minorities, georgia, . The main ethnic minorities in Georgia are Azerbaijanis Armenians Ukrainians Russians Greeks Abkhazians Ossetians Kists Assyrians and Yazidi Contents 1 Ethnic minorities 2 Historical background 3 Ethnic minorities in Georgia today 4 Rule of law 5 Education 6 Social and regional integration of society 7 Media 8 Civic participation 9 List of the councils for the support and protection of ethnic minorities in Georgia 10 Organizations working on the protection of ethnic minorities in Georgia 11 References 12 External linksEthnic minorities EditAccording to the National Integration and Tolerance in Georgia Assessment Survey Report 2007 2008 1 implemented by the UN Association of Georgia and supported by USAID the following ethnic groups are living in Georgia Ethnic groups Total populationTotal 4 371 535Georgians 3 661 173Azerbaijanis 284 761Armenians 248 929Russians 67 671Ossetians 60 000Yazidis 18 329Greeks 15 166Kists 7 110Ukrainians 7 039Abkhazians 125 567Assyrians 4 000Historical background EditGeorgia s ethnic composition varied from one historical epoch to another and this happened as the result of certain economic political or social factors Georgian academic Vakhtang Jaoshvili identified four major stages in the history of Georgia that influenced the ethnic composition of Georgia from medieval times to the late 18th century from the 19th century to the 1921 Soviet invasion of Georgia from 1921 to the collapse of the USSR and present days starting with the Georgian declaration of independence As Georgia during medieval times remained the victim of military aggression coming from its neighbors its territories near the borders were often abandoned by Georgians and the vacated areas were occupied by other ethnic groups In the 15th century Muslims populations moved to the Kvemo Kartli province In this era Ossetians also moved from Northern Caucasus settling in Georgia By the early 19th century Georgians made up only four fifths of the total population In the beginning of the 19th century a big influx of foreign populations were deliberately settled in Georgia In 1832 Georgians were 75 9 percent of total population in comparison to the 79 4 percent in 1800 This was determined by the Russian Empire establishing its rule over Georgia replacing the Georgians populations near the borders with other ethnic groups because of economical or military interests In the beginning of the 19th century Russia forced Muslim Georgians to move from Samtskhe Javakheti to the Ottoman Empire replacing them with Armenians who were encouraged by Russia to leave Iran and Turkey through the 1828 Treaty of Turkmenchay and the 1829 Treaty of Adrianople as signed respectively with the two 2 3 In 1830 the number of Armenians settlers reached 35 000 By 1830 18 Greek settlements appeared in Georgia as well In addition Georgia also remained a potential place of residence for Russian demoralized soldiers and religious sects like Dukhobors During World War I Kurds and Assyrians also settled in Georgia Under Soviet rule Georgia received a massive influx of immigrants especially Ukrainians Russians Ossetians and Armenians In addition the increase of the birth rate among Jews Azerbaijanis or other ethnic groups led to a significant decrease in ethnic Georgians and by 1939 for the first time in the history of Georgia Georgians were less than two thirds of the whole population This decrease was contrasted by the emigration of Georgians many of whom not ethnically Georgians after the end of World War II By 1979 the share of Georgians was 62 1 percent in urban areas and 75 7 percent in rural areas The collapse of the Soviet Union had a similar effect causing emigration from Georgia especially from war zones in Abkhazia and South Ossetia Thus ethnic minorities in 1989 constituted 30 percent of total population and by 2002 this number had dropped to 16 percent 4 Ethnic minorities in Georgia today EditGeorgia is to this day ethnically diverse The government worked out special plans for the integration of ethnic minorities into the society In August 2005 the Georgian government established the Civil Integration and Tolerance Council Its main function was to study the issue of tolerance towards ethnic minorities and their level of their participation to society The council defined six main priority areas for the development of policies and consequently created six working groups inside the council Rule of Law Education Culture Social and Regional Integration of Society Media Civic Participation Rule of law EditAs a member of the international community Georgia has ratified several international agreements providing guarantees for ethnic minorities living on the territory of Georgia Following is a list of such agreements followed by the date of ratification by Georgia Universal Declaration of Human Rights 15 09 1991 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 25 01 1994 International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights 25 01 1994 International Convention Concerning discrimination in respect of Employment and Occupation 04 05 1995 European Cultural Convention 16 04 1997 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination 16 04 1999 Convention for The Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms 12 05 1999 European Charter of Local Self Government 16 10 2004 Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities 13 10 2005 European Outline Convention on Trans frontier Co operation between Territorial Communities or Authorities 04 11 2006 The constitution of Georgia also recognizes the equal rights of every citizen regardless of race colour language sex religion ethnic origin or nationality Any violation of the equality of citizens is punishable under the Georgian law Education EditAccording to the Georgian Law on General Education every citizen of Georgia has a right on receiving secondary education in their native language if Georgian is not their native language In addition it is also obligatory to teach state language in schools As of 2008 the Georgian government funded 5 141 Armenian language schools 117 Azerbaijani language schools 151 Russian language schools 3 Ossetian language schools 161 bilingual schools 6 trilingual schoolsIn order to provide equal opportunity for every citizen of Georgia to receive higher education in 2008 for the first time the national examination in general skills was conducted in Azerbaijani and Armenian languages as well In 2005 the Zurab Zhvania School of Public Administration was founded with the assistance of President and State in order to implement and promote democratic values in regional governmental and self governmental institutions and to improve the quality of social services and civil service The school focuses on the preparation of civil servants and on the promotion of the teaching of Georgian language to ethnic minorities Social and regional integration of society EditThe Georgian government identified the decrease of unemployment in the regions inhabited by ethnic minorities as fundamental to their integration in society With this goal it has economically promoted the local businesses In total 6 941 500 GEL has been provided for such projects as re equipment of wood processing development of construction material producing honey production and so on in the regions inhabited by ethnic minorities Media EditThe Georgian Public Broadcasting GPB is the only media source legally obliged to broadcast in minority languages On March 21 2008 the Georgian parliament changed the Law on Broadcasting and GPB was obliged to spend at least 25 of its budget on programs related to South Ossetia and Abkhazia as well as on programs concerning ethnic minorities In order to allow ethnic minorities living in Georgia to be well informed about events taking place in the country the GPB news program Moambe is aired in different languages Abkhazian Ossetian Russian Armenian Azerbaijani and Kurdish Since 2007 a 50 minute weekly radio bridge is held in conjunction with Baku and Yerevan Since June 2 2007 the talk show Italian Yard has been aired on GPB Its main aim is to promote dialogue among ethnic minorities living in Georgia and to encourage their successful integration into society The show itself is conducted in Georgian and is designed for a wider audience The format was designed with guidance of American journalist and producer Stan Matthews The talk show crew acts according to the recommendations by GPB s minority council and considering the result of surveys carried out by the UN association of Georgia and other NGOs The show crew frequently receives letters from ethnic minorities living in Samtskhe Javakheti through the post boxes placed in the region The project of Italian Yard is carried out with the assistance of USAID in the frames of National Integration and Tolerance in Georgia program of the United Nations Association of Georgia Civic participation EditApart from participation in elections and to the decision making process there also should be wider opportunities for civic participation that implies monitoring and consultation An important step on this way was the memorandum signed on 26 June 2008 between the Civil Integration and Tolerance Council and the Ethnic Minorities Council within Ombudsman s Office List of the councils for the support and protection of ethnic minorities in Georgia EditCouncil functioning under Patriarchate founded on 20 June 2005 It consists of representatives of Eastern Orthodox Catholic Armenian Apostolic Evangelical Lutheran and Evangelical Baptist churches as well as Jews and Muslim clerics Religious Council functioning under the Ombudsman Founded on 21 June 21 2005 it consists of representatives of 23 religious groups Ethnic Minorities Council under the Public Defender of Georgia More than 80 NGOs are united under this council and are working together on solving diverse issues concerning ethnic minorities Council functioning under Georgian Public Broadcasting The council was created under the GPB and deals with issues concerning ethnic minorities gender equality religious issues etc The council creates and presents recommendations to GPB concerning program priorities Organizations working on the protection of ethnic minorities in Georgia EditEuropean Centre for Minority Issues ECMI founded in 1996 in Germany is an international organization working in the field of minority governance and conflict resolution Through action oriented projects practice and policy oriented research information gathering and documentation and advisory services ECMI advances majority minority relations throughout Europe and its neighbourhood With its headquarters in Flensburg Germany together with its two regional offices based in Tbilisi Georgia and Pristina Kosovo ECMI contributes to the strengthening of legislation and best practices in minority governance Correspondingly ECMI enhances the capacity of civil society and governments to encourage constructive relations between minorities and states ECMI has been operating a Caucasus office 6 based in Tbilisi since 2003 UN Association of Georgia The United Association of Georgia UNAG is a non governmental organization founded on 25 December 1995 It works on the promotion of the development of civil participation and democratic governance to provide Georgian society with the necessary skills for successful integration into the international community UNAG has been the member of World Federation of United Nations Associations since 1996 UN Association of Georgia in partnership with Georgian government and financial support of USAID implemented the four year program National Integration and Tolerance in Georgia NITG to promote an increased sense of unity among citizens of Georgian through supporting government of Georgia in formation of national integration strategy and action plan Caucasus Institute for Peace Democracy and Development the CIPDD is an organization that encompasses wide spheres of activities connected with development of democracy in Georgia Following projects has been implemented by CIPDD Independent Media in South Caucasus Supporting Ethnic Minorities for Democratic Political Participation Improving Environment for ethnic minority integration in Georgia through supporting Reforms in the school education system ALPE Foundation is an independent non governmental organization that pursues professional communication activities aimed at strengthening civil society in Georgia One of the projects implemented by ALPE is Fostering Integration through Education and Culture of Tolerance Open Society Georgia Foundation Based on its priorities the Open Society Georgia Foundation OSGF offers grants to non profit non governmental organizations or individuals in order to promote the values of an open society in Georgia Liberty Institute The Liberty Institute is a non profit non partisan organization promoting liberal public policy advocacy Working in the spheres of freedom of speech religion etc Civic Integration Foundation Civic Integration Foundation CIF is a non governmental non profit and non political organization committed to promotion of civic participation human rights and civic integration The main goal of CIF is to assist ethnic minorities integration into society Among projects implemented by CIF following can be mentioned Independent Media for Civil Integration Supporting Ethnic Minorities for Democratic Political Participation Legal Education as a Way for Successful Integration of National Minorities References Edit Assessment Survey Report 2007 2008 PDF National Integration and Tolerance in Georgia Archived PDF from the original on 2011 07 21 Griboedov not only extended protection to those Caucasian captives who sought to go home but actively promoted the return of even those who did not volunteer Large numbers of Georgian and Armenian captives had lived in Iran since 1804 or as far back as 1795 Fisher William Bayne Avery Peter Gershevitch Ilya Hambly Gavin Melville Charles The Cambridge History of Iran Cambridge University Press 1991 p 339 in Russian A S Griboyedov Zapiska o pereselenii armyan iz Persii v nashi oblasti Archived January 13 2016 at the Wayback Machine Fundamentalnaya Elektronnaya Biblioteka Mamuka Komakhia 15 13 Georgia s Ethnic History and the Present Migration Processes Diversity ge Archived from the original Archived April 14 2013 at the Wayback Machine on July 21 2011 Tolerance and Civil Integration State Policy PDF Administration of the President of Georgia 2008 Archived PDF from the original on 2011 07 21 ECMI Caucasus European Centre For Minority Issues Caucasus ecmicaucasus org Archived from the original on 23 September 2017 Retrieved 25 April 2018 External links EditUN Association of Georgia Official Website Caucasus Institute for Peace Democracy and Development ALPE Foundation Archived 2003 11 01 at the Wayback Machine Open Society Georgia Foundation Liberty Institute Civic Integration Foundation Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ethnic minorities in Georgia country amp oldid 1121769914, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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