Taking into account the needs of all vulnerable groups, ensuring the representation of native peoples is the key to the restoration of Ukraine

The state should adopt already developed documents on the formation and provision of activities of representative bodies of indigenous peoples. It is also necessary to take into account the specific needs of vulnerable groups of the population against the background of the full-scale war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine for the sake of the future recovery of Ukraine.

This was discussed during the expert discussion of the situation in which vulnerable groups of the population found themselves after the beginning of the full-scale aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine on February 24, 2022 “Vulnerable groups against the background of a full-scale war: how to take into account the specifics of needs?”.

For example, Andrii Hnapovskyi, head of the department for ensuring the activities of the Head of the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience, spoke about the participation of the State Service in preparing a proposal for the Working Group on Human Rights of the National Council for the Reconstruction of Ukraine.

According to him, the position of the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience in many respects coincides with the recommendations of the Center for Civil Liberties (CCL) experts (which were presented during the meeting). In particular, it is about the need to approve normative acts aimed at ensuring the rights of indigenous peoples in the near future. First of all, these are the resolutions of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine “On the approval of the Procedure for establishing the legal status of the representative body of the indigenous people of Ukraine” and “On the approval of the Procedure for conducting consultations of the executive authorities with the representative bodies of the indigenous peoples of Ukraine.” The drafts of these resolutions are currently being developed by the State Service.

In general, during the event, which took place within the framework of the “Point 7” project (official name “Promoting Social Cohesion in Ukraine“) in partnership with Vostok SOS and the Center for Civil Liberties with the support of the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative in Ukraine (ABA ROLI Ukraine), discussed various issues related to ensuring the rights of vulnerable population groups during the large-scale war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.

In particular, Vyacheslav Likhachev, an expert of the Center for Civil Liberties, singled out the specific situation in which Ukrainian Jews, Crimean Tatars and representatives of the LGBT community found themselves.

The main problems and challenges that determine the specifics of the situation in which the Jewish community found itself are that its cultural and historical heritage has suffered from hostilities. The socio-demographic structure of the Jewish community also affects the current state and prospects of Jews in Ukraine, which has its specificity, because the Jewish community is very “old” in composition. Moreover, the peculiarity of the development of the Jewish community in Ukraine is determined by the attitude of the Jewish state towards Jewish refugees.

Describing the situation in which the Crimean Tatars found themselves, the human rights defender emphasized that the Crimean Tatars are a community that has been subjected to targeted persecution on the territory of the temporarily occupied Crimea for eight years.

“After February 24, the pressure on the Crimean Tatar community increased even more on the peninsula itself. This is not to mention the new territories that have been occupied since the beginning of the full-scale aggression. It is in this direction that the support of the international community is especially necessary. Disproportionally great pressure on the Crimean Tatars, bordering on ethnic discrimination, is another violation of international standards by Russia,” he added.

Vyacheslav Likhachev also touched on the issue of gender equality, which has become acute in the situation of large-scale Russian aggression. “It seems that right now (in particular, in connection with the prospect of acquiring candidate status in the EU) there are circumstances that contribute to the advocacy of several specific issues, which, first of all, is the introduction of the official institute of civil partnerships for same-sex couples”, – noted the expert of the CCL.

In her turn, Anastasia Horpinchenko, communications manager of the NGO “Vostok-SOS” briefly outlined the problems and challenges facing the state in the context of ensuring the rights of internally displaced persons (IDPs).

“IDPs feel two main urgent needs – provision of housing and humanitarian aid. The flow of people who want to leave does not stop, it increases,” she emphasized. The representative of “Vostok-SOS” also noted that the state should now develop long-term strategies for meeting the needs of IDPs.

Julian Kondur, the coordinator of the Chirikli Roma Women’s Fund, also spoke during the discussion. He emphasized that currently the Roma community is actively involved in volunteering and the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in fact, as well as representatives of other vulnerable groups. However, there is a certain set of issues that require the intervention of the state, it is said, in particular, that cases of prejudice against Roma were recorded at the household level.

Victoria Khalanchuk, a specialist in the Department of Analytics and Strategic Planning of the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience, drew attention to the state of compliance with the rights of some ethnic communities, which were not the focus of the study.

Among other things, it was about the catastrophic consequences of hostilities and occupation for the Greeks of the Azov region. The unique communities of Rumeys (Hellenophones) and Urums (Tyrophones) with a distinctive culture found themselves as a result of full-scale Russian aggression and forced “evacuation” from the area of ​​compact living under the threat of accelerated assimilation and even disappearance.

Representatives of other state authorities also raised some other issues related to the protection of the rights of vulnerable population groups. During the meeting, issues of procedural difficulties that arise, in particular, before the Prosecutor’s Office of Crimea, during the investigation of cases of pressure and persecution of Ukrainian citizens by the Russian occupiers were discussed.

The representative of the Kharkiv Human Rights Group, Andriy Didenko, emphasized, in particular, that those persons who are in prisons in the occupied territories need consistent protection because they have become hostages of the Russian occupiers.

The full text of the meeting recommendations can be found here.