We truly feel and appreciate the solidarity and support. Once again, thank you so much for having us today and discussing these very stressful developments in Georgia and Canada. Thank you for all the support we have seen for the past decade, since the independence of our country.
The impact of this law on civil society is going to be crucial. There are over 30,000 registered NGOs in this country in various fields of work, from watchdog organizations working on election observations and on raising voter awareness to those fighting for human rights and for women's rights. There are a number of cases that Georgian NGOs have won in different international courts, defending the citizens of this country.
Additionally, there are a lot of regional organizations or different types of organizations that will be under this law literally closing down, for example, those who work on the smaller scale on their local issues addressing and fighting for children's rights, animals' rights, providing free food or providing services for people with disabilities or IDPs. The numbers are limitless, because this law does not have any distinction, or there's no difference based on the field of work. Sometimes there is a mix-up of this law with the potential work of lobbyists.
Again, if there is a misunderstanding, there is a law in Georgia about lobbying. If there is a need for additional clarification, that could be addressed. Once again, this law has nothing to do with transparency. This law directly attacks and abolishes civil society, basically. It destroys civil society. Once again, there's no way that an NGO in this country will register. We would be given the name “foreign agent” when we are not and have never been foreign agents. Additionally, with all the fines that are going to come every month, you can imagine that there's literally no chance of NGOs dealing with such high financial fees.
Concerning the updates on the protests, it's now 1 a.m. in Georgia, but there are already people and young people outside in the streets. Since the reintroduction of this law from April 3, street protests have not stopped. There have been thousands and even over 100,000 citizens in the streets protesting this law. The most important aspect, I think, in this protest is that it's a very clear message: no to Russian law, yes to Europe.
Our European and Euro-Atlantic integration is a main priority for Georgians. It's a main priority for our country's future. That has also been strengthened by our constitution. Therefore, yes, that has been a lot of motivation. It has given me a lot of inspiration to see a younger generation, even my children, who are 12, 13 or 14 years old, out in the streets protesting and defending their rights and their future.