During 2023, the Committee on Youth and Sports prepared and submitted to the Verkhovna Rada conclusions on the consideration of 12 draft laws, 8 of which were adopted as a whole and three as a basis

During 2023, the Committee held 20 meetings, including one offsite meeting, at which 116 issues were considered, submitted to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine conclusions on the consideration of 12 draft laws for which the Committee was designated as the lead, in particular, it was proposed to adopt 3 draft laws as a basis, to adopt 8 draft laws as a basis and as a whole, and not to include 1 draft law in the agenda of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

The Parliament submitted 49 preliminary conclusions to the draft laws, the main committee responsible for their consideration and preparation being another committee.

The Law of Ukraine "On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine on Streamlining State Social Standards and State Social Norms for the Provision of Services in the Field of Physical Culture and Sports" (No. 2868-IX of 12 January 2023) was adopted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and signed by the President of Ukraine.

The Law sets out in a new wording Article 14 of the Law of Ukraine "On State Social Standards and State Social Guarantees", which clarifies the list of state social standards for the provision of services by entities in the field of physical culture and sports, in particular, it provides that the state social standards for the provision of services in the field of physical culture and sports include:

list, minimum standards of expenditures (funding) and scope of services in the field of physical culture and sports, including free and privileged services;

indicators of accessibility and quality of services in the field of physical culture and sports, including free and privileged services, including for persons with disabilities;

standards for providing the population with physical culture and sports facilities and sports facilities, including those accessible to persons with disabilities.

In addition, the Law expands the principles of state policy in the field of physical culture and sports by amending Article 4 of the Law of Ukraine "On Physical Culture and Sports".

The implementation of the Law will help to increase the volume and quality of services in the field of physical culture and sports provided to the population, including the standards for the provision of physical culture and sports facilities and sports facilities, including accessibility for persons with disabilities.

The Verkhovna Rada also adopted 4 Resolutions;

1. On the Appeal of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to the Parliaments of Foreign States, the International Olympic Committee, National Olympic Committees and International Sports Federations (No. 2899-IX of 6 February 2023).

In particular, the Appeal notes that the proposals to allow athletes from the terrorist states of russia and belarus to participate in international sports competitions do not take into account the extremely cruel and barbaric nature of the war waged by the russian federation with the support of belarus against Ukraine, aimed at the genocide of the Ukrainian people, in particular, the overt attempts of the russian armed forces to provoke a man-made disaster in Ukraine by completely destroying the energy system and shelling the Zaporizhzhia and Chornobyl nuclear power plants. Such proposals are an outrage to the memory of hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian citizens, including more than 220 Ukrainian athletes who selflessly stood up to defend their homeland and laid down their lives in the struggle for its future as a democratic European state.

2. On the Appeal of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to the leaders and parliaments of foreign countries to restrict the entry of russian and belarusian athletes and sports delegations into their territory (No. 3315-IX of 10 August 2023).

The Appeal, in particular, notes that

"In russia and belarus, sport is a component of state war propaganda. Most of their athletes are representatives of law enforcement agencies and some of them are involved in hostilities in the war of aggression against Ukraine;

the people's deputies of Ukraine consider the proposals of the International Olympic Committee to return russians and belarusians to international competitions under a neutral flag to be erroneous. Such a shameful policy of the International Olympic Committee at a time when the unprecedentedly brutal russian aggression against Ukraine, against the civilian population, especially children and women, continues, leads to the fact that real war criminals, participants in hostilities against independent Ukraine and propagandists who sow hatred against an entire nation may participate in sports competitions.

 3. On the Appeal of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to the parliaments and governments of democratic countries, the International Olympic Committee and international sports federations to condemn the illegal disqualification by the International Fencing Federation of Ukrainian fencer, Olympic champion, six-time world champion, eight-time European champion Olha Kharlan (No. 3316-IX of 10 August 2023).

The Appeal, in particular, notes that the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine fully supports the worthy act of Olympic champion Olha Kharlan and strongly condemns the shameful decision of the International Fencing Federation to disqualify the Ukrainian athlete and calls on the International Fencing Federation to

completely cancel the disqualification of Olha Kharlan and officially apologise to her;

bring to justice all persons involved in the decision to disqualify Olha Kharlan;

disqualify russian athlete Anna Smirnova for life for a provocative act that contradicts the Olympic spirit.

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine proposed to international sports federations to amend the rules of sports competitions by cancelling the mandatory handshake or bow in competitions in which both Ukrainian and russian or belarusian athletes participate, in order to avoid the recurrence of such provocations in sports whose rules require a mandatory handshake or bow.

The Appeal also states that the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine once again calls on the International Olympic Committee and international sports federations to cancel the decision to allow russian and belarusian athletes to participate in international sports competitions, as the provocation against Olha Kharlan showed that there are no neutral athletes in the russian federation and the republic of belarus.

4. "On awarding in 2023 the Prize of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine for the contribution of young people to the development of parliamentarism and local self-government" (No. 3526-IX of 10 August 2023).

According to the above-mentioned Resolution of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Prize for Youth Contribution to the Development of Parliamentarism and Local Self-Government was awarded to ten young citizens of Ukraine.

The winners of the Prize are fighting for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, clearing Ukrainian land from the occupiers, and volunteering to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine and Ukrainian citizens affected by russian aggression. Among the laureates are 8 servicemen who are fighting back against the military of the aggressor state, a cadet of the Kharkiv National University of Internal Affairs who is fighting ruscists in cyberspace and also doing volunteer work, and a commander of a volunteer unit of the Bucha city territorial community. The laureates are also active in promoting Ukrainian national and civic identity and have serious scientific research.

The Committee has prepared and proposed to adopt as a basis 6 draft laws and three draft resolutions.

As part of the parliamentary oversight, the Committee considered 13 issues related to the implementation of legislative acts.

The Committee closely cooperates with executive authorities, local governments and civil society institutions. All draft laws and issues related to compliance with the law are considered transparently, with the involvement of stakeholders: central executive authorities, the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine, the Sports Committee of Ukraine, the National Committee for Sports of Disabled People of Ukraine, All-Ukrainian sports and fitness associations, youth and children's public associations, civil society institutions working to promote national and civic identity, higher education institutions, research institutions, and the media. Stakeholders are also involved in the meetings of the Committee, subcommittees and working groups for the processing and development of draft laws.