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Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova's response to a media question about the adoption of a new law on ethnic minorities in Ukraine

26 December 2022 21:22
2650-26-12-2022

Question: Can you respond to the adoption of a new law on ethnic minorities by Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada?

Maria Zakharova: We have attentively analysed the law on ethnic minorities (communities) in Ukraine, which was adopted by the Verkhovna Rada on December 13, 2022, in the second and final reading, and consider it our duty to draw the attention of the international community to the cynical mockery of Ukraine's legislators of the rights of ethnic minorities in violation of all of this country's existing commitments with the relevant organizations.

Having reviewed the overtly discriminatory law on ensuring the functioning of Ukrainian as the state language, the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe advised Kiev to revise its legislation on the rights of ethnic minorities and bring it closer to European norms. Unfortunately, Kiev was in no hurry to fulfil these recommendations until the European Commission made similar requirements in June of this year when Ukraine was granted candidate status for EU membership. The commission set a clear deadline for implementing this requirement: the end of this year.

In essence, the law adopted by the Verkhovna Rada and submitted for signing by the President of Ukraine, has not introduced anything new to the operating legislation on the rights and freedoms of ethnic minorities and is therefore beneath criticism. Hungary and Romania, which have large communities of compatriots in Ukraine, have already expressed strong dissatisfaction. They noted that the law was not duly discussed with representatives of ethnic minorities and the bill's authors disregarded their proposals.

Let's look at the law's provisions on ethnic Russians that are covertly described in the text - as those "identifying their ethnic origin with the state that is recognised by Ukraine and/or international organisations as a terrorist state (an aggressor state)." As long as martial law is in effect in Ukraine and six months after it ends, most of their rights and freedoms are limited. This applies to the right to hold peaceful assemblies, receive funding, create advisory bodies at local administrations and take part in international activities.

This is how segregation and obvious manifestations of Nazism look today. Ukraine is trying to implement this prejudice into law. However, international and European human rights organisations are not paying attention to these encroachments on human rights when they concern ethnic Russians. This is a manifestation of Russophobia, something we have been talking about for a long time.

Unfortunately, in the current situation it is useless to urge international organisations to try to influence Kiev to fulfil its human rights commitments. Only the implementation of the goals and objectives of the special military operation can reinstate the rights of these Russians and other ethnic communities in Ukraine to freely speak their native tongue, to be educated in their native tongue, and to keep their historical memory and commemorate their heroes, and, restore the rule of law and respect for human rights in Ukraine.