The meeting between the people’s deputies of Ukraine and the Honorary President of the Political Group of the European People’s Party in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, deputy of Chamber of Deputies of Italy Luca Giuseppe Volonte was held in the Committee on Family Matters, Youth Policy, Sports and Tourism

Information Department of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Secretariat
11 November 2013, 14:55

 The meeting was also attended by the First Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Budget Oksana Kaletnyk and the Chairman of the subcommittee on youth policy, family and childhood of the Committee on Family Matters, Youth Policy, Sports and Tourism Mykola Zhuk.

During the meeting, experience of political and civil protection of family and traditional values in present-day Europe was discussed. According to Luca Giuseppe Volonte, “representatives of different countries should jointly fight against anti-family policy.” He also stressed that “changes, dangerous for society, in legislation usually begin with prohibition of discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation.”   

M.Zhuk claimed that “we, as an Orthodox country, should unite with all forces opposing to enforcement of anti-Christian views on the institute of family and relations between sexes.”

He also informed the participants of the meeting about measures taken by the Verkhovna Rada and the Government regarding protection of traditional family values in Ukraine.

  

The people’s deputy drew attention to the fact that today there is a draft law on amendments to several legislative acts re preventing and combating discrimination in Ukraine (Reg. No.  2342) under consideration in the Ukrainian Parliament. According to M.Zhuk, the most controversial provision of the bill concerns supplementing article 21 of the Labour Code of Ukraine.     

The World Congress of Families Ambassador to European Institutions Pavel Parfentiev concentrated attention on problems arising from anti-discrimination provisions in legislation of different countries and claimed that protection of family should become an absolute priority for all countries in international relations.  

Following the results of the discussion, participants of the meeting stressed the necessity of uniting efforts of all political and social organizations to protect families, family values and also combat ideologies aimed at ruining these values.