The draft of the new Civil Code (Code of Private Law) of Ukraine, initiated by a group of MPs led by the Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk (Bill 14394), contradicts the stated goals, directly violating current European legislation and policy on protection of LGBTQ people’s rights and ignoring the realities of modern European society.

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of Internal Affairs and submitted to the Verkhovna Rada by the Cabinet of Ministers in 2021, has been officially withdrawn from parliamentary consideration in accordance with the Rules of Procedure of the Verkhovna Rada.

We sincerely thank British actor and writer Sir Stephen Fry for his inspiring message in support of Ukraine, queer people, and Nash Svit Center!

Yesterday, the Verkhovna Rada adopted Bill 11456 “On Amendments to the Law of Ukraine ‘On Free Legal Aid’ Regarding Expanding the List of Persons Entitled to Free Secondary Legal Aid” which supplements the list of subjects entitled to free secondary legal aid by persons who have suffered from criminal offenses based on hatred on grounds of race, skin color, political, religious, and other beliefs, gender, disability, ethnic and social origin, property status, place of residence, language. However, the list of protected characteristics does not include sexual orientation and gender identity despite the fact that both independent observers and the National Police report every year on the presence and prevalence of such crimes in Ukraine — accordingly, their victims should have the same right to legal aid as victims of hate crimes on other grounds.

For the third year in a row, the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, commissioned by Nash Svit Center, conducts a survey on the attitude of Ukrainian society to LGBTQ issues, and this year’s results again demonstrate that it is slowly but consistently improving.