27 May 2013, 14:30
Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Koshulynskyi jointly with the people’s deputies Iryna Farion, Bohdan Benyuk and Eduard Leonov have registered a new version of the Law “On National Minorities in Ukraine” (Reg. No. 2127 of 24/05/2013) in the Parliament.
According to the authors of the draft law, it aims at refining legislation in regard to ensuring rights of national minorities under several key directions: legislative determination of criteria providing state assistance to national minorities; formation of legal basis of self-government of national minorities and their practical involvement in government on the territory of compact residence; and increase of efficiency of fund use allocated for support of national minorities.
Telling of necessity to adopt a new version of the Law “On National Minorities in Ukraine”, R.Koshulynskyi noted that the existing law is mainly declarative. “It includes neither clear criterion for determining national minorities, nor determines mechanisms of representation of national minorities in local self-government, their involvement in government on the territory of compact residence,” stressed the Deputy Chairman of the Parliament.
R.Koshulynskyi informed that legal mechanism for establishing bodies of local self-government of national minorities is the key innovation of the suggested version of the law.
Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada informed also that the draft law provides the citizens of Ukraine with a possibility to mention their nationality in passports and acts of civil status. It is suggested amend the Law of Ukraine “On election of the people’s deputies of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, local, township and city heads”, under which, a candidate can mention his/her nationality in the autobiography and other registrars.
R.Koshulynskyi informed that the abovementioned draft law defines the notion of a “national minority” in line with the principle of “historical time quota” of stay of certain people on the territory of a country. He added that such principle is used in many European countries.
Summing up, R.Koshulynskyi expressed hope that the Verkhovna Rada shall consider the abovementioned document and “the qualitative and efficient law on national minorities will finally come into force in Ukraine”.