Disinfo: By signing the UN Global Compact for Migration, Georgia will be forced to let in migrants from Syria and Africa

Summary

Georgia signed the UN Global Compact for Migration, contrary to many other countries who want to protect their borders from migrants. The UN Global Compact foresees that migrants’ rights are fundamental. For that reason, any criticism of migrants will cause being named a racist or a xenophobe. Signing the agreement means also that foreign countries can tell Georgia to let in migrants from Syria and Africa.

Disproof

The Global Compact is non-legally binding - and this fact is clearly stated in the document itself (paragraph 7: This Global Compact presents a non-legally binding, cooperative framework that builds on the commitments agreed upon by Member States in the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants. It fosters international cooperation among all relevant actors on migration, acknowledging that no State can address migration alone, and upholds the sovereignty of States and their obligations under international law). This information can also be found in the document's description on the UN website. Since the UN Global Compact for Migration is non-legally binding, it cannot force Georgia or any other country to let in any migrants. Other states cannot force each other to do so, either. Moreover, it is not the pact's purpose. The aim of the UN Global Compact is to better manage migration at local, national, regional and global levels, in a cooperative manner. The document does, however, recognise the problem of hate speech and hate crimes aimed at migrants. Therefore, UN countries can come up with national legislation that addresses this issue, by penalising crimes (but NOT criticism) against migrants, as well as to empower migrants and communities to denounce any acts of incitement to violence directed towards migrants. There are several other measures which might be taken by UN member states in this respect - but they do not include penalising every form of criticism towards migration. Further debunking by Myth Detector.

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Asaval-Dasavali on mediamonitoring.ge (Archived)
  • Reported in: Issue 131
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 17/12/2018
  • Outlet language(s) Georgian
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Georgia
  • Keywords: United Nations, Global Compact for Migration, Racism, UN
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Disinfo: The protests in France were organized by the UK and US

The United States and United Kingdom organized the “yellow vests” protests in France, but accused Russia of standing behind them. They try to expand the protests all over Europe in order to destroy the European Union. // The US tries to revive the historical confrontation between Germany and France in order to destroy the EU.

Dec 16, 2018
Disproof

No evidence given. Recurring pro-Kremlin conspiracy narrative about "yellow vests" and the United States' actions in Europe.

Disinfo: An Orthodox church in Ukraine seized by unknown people

On 15 December, a group of 20 unknown people seized a Moscow Patriarchate Orthodox Church in Vinnytsia city (west-central Ukraine). // The building has been seized by people that support the autocephaly of the Ukrainian Church.

Dec 15, 2018
Disproof

No evidence given. Ukrainian media published a video about a service held in that church on the 17 December. Vinnytsia police chief Serhiy Syniavskyi informed that they “sent a special patrol to the church to check things out. Everything was normal as usual". And Stop Fake contacted the caretakers of the Vinnytsia church and were told everything was normal and no one had taken control of the church. "Over the telephone we could hear singing from the mass that was taking place there at the time", mentions Stop Fake.

Disinfo: Ukrainian boats illegally crossed the Russian maritime border

In late November, Ukraine’s Berdyansk and Nikopol gunboats and the Yany Kapu tugboat illegally crossed the Russian maritime border as they sailed toward the Kerch Strait, the entrance to the Sea of Azov. The Ukrainian vessels were seized by Russia after failing to respond to legal demands to leave the area. Moscow described the incident as a clear provocation in violation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and promised to suppress any attempts to challenge its territorial integrity and sovereignty.

Dec 15, 2018
Disproof

On November 25 border patrol boats belonging to Russia’s FSB security service seized two small Ukrainian armoured artillery vessels and a tug boat and their crews after opening fire at them, wounding several Ukrainian servicemen. Russia argued that they were in Russian waters. However a bilateral treaty between Russia and Ukraine, signed in 2003 and ratified by Russia in 2004, governs the use of the Kerch strait and the Sea of Azov, which in the treaty is considered to be the “internal waters” of both Russia and Ukraine. See recurring disinformation examples about the Azov Sea.