First of all, the Speaker of the Parliament of Ukraine expressed his belief that the Forum will become a constructive platform that will allow for a frank and sincere discussion of the implementation of the rights of national minorities in Ukraine, a look at the best European practices, identification of challenges and joint efforts to find ways to effectively address them.
“The Ukrainian people are kind and tolerant, and Ukraine has long been a land of peaceful coexistence of different nations and nationalities. And as our history shows, only russia has consistently brought discord and enmity into our lives,” said Ruslan Stefanchuk, noting that the consolidation and development of the Ukrainian nation, as well as the development of the ethnic, cultural, linguistic and religious identity of all indigenous peoples and national minorities of Ukraine, is a constitutional duty of the Ukrainian state: “The protection of the rights of national minorities is one of the fundamental foundations of the democratic state that we are building and that we have been defending together against russian aggression for ten years.”
He also stressed that this is a priority issue on the European integration agenda and one of the basic criteria for Ukraine’s future accession to the European Union: “Despite the war, we continue to move forward with democratic reforms, including in the area of ethnic policy.”
At the same time, Ruslan Stefanchuk said that last year the Ukrainian Parliament adopted the Law of Ukraine “On National Minorities (Communities) of Ukraine” and brought a number of other legislative acts in line with Ukraine’s international commitments in this area, such as the Laws of Ukraine “On Ensuring the Functioning of the Ukrainian Language as the State Language”, “On Media”, and “On Education”.
“We have been working in dialogue with the Government and our international partners. We took into account the recommendations of the Council of Europe and its Venice Commission. We are striving to enshrine the best international practices in this area in Ukrainian legislation,” the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine stressed.
“We are all citizens of Ukraine. We defend our country, regardless of our nationality or language. We are united by one goal, and this goal is a free and democratic country where everyone has equal rights. We are ready to continue to work together and listen to each other's views. To move forward in a multi-voiced dialogue,” the Speaker of the Parliament of Ukraine concluded.