Appeal to Ukraine’s international partners regarding the withdrawal from parliamentary consideration of Draft Law No. 5488 «On amendments to the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offences and the Criminal Code of Ukraine to combat manifestations of discrimination»
Dear Sir or Madam,
We would like to inform you of an important development concerning Ukraine’s progress in combating hate crimes and hate speech based on sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI).
Following the resignation of the previous Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the formation of a new government, Bill 5488 (“On amendments to the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offences and the Criminal Code of Ukraine to combat manifestations of discrimination”), developed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and submitted to the Verkhovna Rada by the Cabinet of Ministers in 2021, has been officially withdrawn from parliamentary consideration in accordance with the Rules of Procedure of the Verkhovna Rada.
This draft law was a long-overdue and much-needed step toward bringing Ukraine’s legislation in line with European standards and commitments regarding the protection of human rights. Its adoption was first envisaged in the National Human Rights Action Plan of 2015 and has only become more urgent since Ukraine obtained EU candidate status.
We would like to draw your attention to the fact that the latest European Commission report on Ukraine’s progress within the 2024 Enlargement Package explicitly states that “progress stalled on key pieces of legislation, including the draft law amending the Code on Administrative Offences and the Criminal Code to combat manifestations of discrimination (registered in 2021), which will include sexual orientation and gender identity under its definition of hate crimes.” This issue is also reflected in the Rule of Law Roadmap within Ukraine’s EU membership negotiation process (Section 3.11, item 1), recently adopted by Ukraine’s government, which stipulates that the necessary legislative changes are to be adopted by the end of this year.
We have already addressed the new Prime Minister of Ukraine, Ms. Yulia Svyrydenko, as well as key responsible ministers, asking them to urgently develop and submit to Parliament a new draft law to replace the withdrawn one, ensuring it fully complies with modern European human rights standards and the recommendations of Ukraine’s international partners.
We would greatly appreciate your continued support in advocating for this crucial legislative initiative with the Ukrainian government and Parliament. We also stand ready, together with other civil society organizations, to contribute our expertise to the development of a bill that would finally provide proper protection against discrimination, hate speech, and hate crimes based on SOGI and other grounds.
The timely adoption of such a law is critical both for Ukraine’s progress on the path to European integration and for protecting Ukrainian citizens who continue to face discrimination and violence.
We remain at your disposal for any additional information or dialogue on this issue.
Sincerely,
Andriy Maymulakhin
Coordinator
