Discrimination is a real problem that can affect anyone in Ukraine, regardless of gender, age, race, health or other characteristics, human rights activists say
Discrimination is a real problem that can affect anyone in Ukraine, regardless of gender, age, race, health or other characteristics. This according to the participants of a discussion in Kyiv on January 30 organized by the Human Rights Information Center and the Coalition for Combating Discrimination in Ukraine with support from the British Embassy in Kyiv, United Nations Development Program and the International Renaissance Foundation’s Rule of Law Program.
As the human rights advocates pointed out, this problem was immediately identified by 40 UN member states during Ukraine’s Universal Periodic Review in Geneva in October 2012.
They also explained that there are no official statistics on discrimination in Ukraine, meaning officials often say they’re not aware it is a problem or play down its scale. The human rights activists added that all information about the number of victims is collected by civil society organizations. However, even this picture is incomplete, as most people that suffer discrimination try to hide it because there are no ways to protect oneself from discrimination in Ukraine.
According to Iryna Fedorovych, co-coordinator of the Coalition for Combating Discrimination, the law “On measures to prevent and combat discrimination in Ukraine” adopted in October 2012 needs fundamental changes. “The law was written hastily to fulfill the country’s external obligations and, unfortunately, does not provide any effective protection from discrimination or establish procedures for reporting acts of discrimination. Therefore, anyone who has faced discrimination simply has no way to defend their rights and get compensation,” she said.
The experts emphasized that the Council of Europe and European Commission also condemned the law.
Roman Romanov, director of the International Renaissance Foundation’s Rule of Law Program (photo), stressed the importance of drawing the attention of government officials to specific individuals who have suffered discrimination and developing and adopting legislation to protect them. “These aren’t isolated incidents and illustrate the situation throughout Ukraine,” he added.
The experts provided the following list of reasons why a person may be discriminated against in Ukraine: race, color, nationality or ethnicity, gender and gender identity, age, health (the disabled and those with HIV), citizenship (or lack thereof), family and marital status, social status, occupation, property status, place of residence, religion, philosophical and political beliefs, membership in organizations, social group, level of education, sexual orientation, criminal record and time served in prison, language.
Contacts:
Human Rights Information Center
Marina Hovoruhkina
+380 50 612 00 20
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The aim of the Rule of Law Program is to support the civil society initiatives directed to the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, to promote strengthened legal consciousness and public activity at the central and local levels.
