Racial Discrimination in Ukraine
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Date: Wed, 5 Aug 1998 11:13:56 +0300 (EET DST)
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Subject: Racial Discrimination in Ukraine
From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
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Racial Discrimination in Ukraine
Information Bulletin
The Center of Public Initiatives "Aydin"
Issue :11 June 21 - July 5, 1998
Racial Discrimination in Ukraine by UN Committee - Is there a racial
discrimination of Crimean Tatars in Ukraine?
(Roman Romanov - Sevastopol Human Rights Protection Group)
On March 9 and 10, during its 52 regular two-day session the UN
Committee on Liquidation of Racial Discrimination considered the 13th
and 14th regular reports of the government of Ukraine about the
observance of the UN Convention "On Liquidation of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination".
The anxiety of the Committee was caused by incoming information about
the problems of Gipsy population, particularly residing in Zakarpatye
and limitation on citizenship granting for the returning
representatives of the deported peoples. The Committee offered its own
recommendations for the Ukrainian government to deal with the
problematic situations.
In the light of the article 5 of the UN Convention on Liquidation of
All Forms of Racial Discrimination the Committee recommends that
Ukraine continue to take all necessary steps in order to restore the
rights of the repatriates, including Crimean Tatars, and to provide
adequate compensation for them, as well as to solve the problem of
obtaining citizenship as soon as possible, employing, if necessary,
international mechanisms. The Ukrainian government is also recommended
to impose all appropriate measures to secure the right of the
representatives of national minorities to receive education in native
language.
The Committee proposed that Ukraine print and widely disseminate the
report and concluding recommendations in various languages, spoken in
Ukraine. It further suggested that government submit the subsequent
report on April 6, 1999, where answers for the questions of the UN
Committee would be included. Submitting the regular report of the
Government the representatives of Ukraine, among other questions, paid
attention to the problems of Crimean Tatar population. In particular,
UN experts were told that Ukrainian government undertook all the
possible efforts to resolve the political, legal and economic
problems, connected with the returning process of deportees. As the
confirmation the acts of executive and legislative bodies of Ukraine,
which are directed to simplification of the procedure of obtaining the
Ukrainian citizenship and securing the opportunity to take part in
elections to Crimean and Ukrainian bodies, in privatization of the
State property for more repatriates. Meanwhile, an unfavourable
economic situation in the country does not allow fully and in foreseen
terms realize the Government program, which was adopted in 1995 by
Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers #636, which is directed to solve
problems of
people being deported from Crimea. Also mentioned was the recent
agreement between the Ministry of Education of Ukraine and the Cabinet
of Ministers of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea on financing
programs of training and retraining of specialists for Crimea and
Sevastopol. The Crimean employment service also resolves the problem
of professional training for the deportees.
According the information of the members of the Ukrainian delegation,
the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers is working on the program project
which provides a set of steps directed to adaptation and integration
of Crimean Tatars to the Ukrainian society. Broadening of the network
of education institutions with teaching on the native language,
publishing of manuals and dictionaries, restoration of historical
toponymy of Crimea. The terms of realization are defined shortest:
1998-1999.
The discussion upon report was very interesting. The main reporter of
Ukraine, van Boven noted unsatisfactory structure of State
Government's report. By his opinion, a large number of Ukrainians
living outside the country (about 10-12 million) allows to speak of
their protection, even though he encountered for the first time the
constitutional clause of such content. His attention was attracted
by non-alignment of Ukraine to the Protocol No. 6 to the European
Convention on Human Rights concerning the disaffirmation of death
penalty, because of very often, as experience shows, such kind of
penalty is used unproportionally wide towards ethnic, national
minorities, also being the measure of discrimination. He asked
whether Ukraine considered an issue of ratification of the Convention
No. 169 of the International Labor Organization (ILO) concerning
indigenous people, as well as people of independent countries, with
the tribal way of life. Also, according him, it is not clear, how the
Ukrainian Government understands the difference in the volume of the
rights of national minorities and indigenous people, whom exactly it
recognizes as indigenous people, how the process of restoration of
rights of nations being the subject of repressions is developing and
how an issue of returning them their property is going to be solved.
Mr. Van Boven has mentioned, that the legislation of Ukraine is very
liberal when the matter touches interethnic relationships and
protection of national minorities. He also underlined the restraint of
the government when resolving interethnic problems, including
separatist movement in Crimea. In his view, if not to take into
account the influence of external factors, mainly that of Russian
nationalists, international <-ethnic? - B.> relations in Ukraine enjoy
emphatically peaceful development. One of the objects of interest for
the expert of the UN became the situation with the Ukrainian
population, making up the majority of the country in general, but
remaining a minority in Crimea, particularly the conditions of using
native language, getting education and access to cultural
institutions.
Mr. Reshetov informed that he had received a report, prepared by
Mejlis of Crimean Tatar people, where the questions of discrimination
of Crimean Tatars in Crimea were raised. In his view, mechanisms,
assuring the representation of Crimean Tatars by 14 deputies in the
former Parliament were quite reasonable. He drawn attention of the
Ukrainian delegation at the necessity of resolving the citizenship
problem. The report by Mejlis attracted his attention by the notion of
Crimean Tatars regarding themselves not a national minority, but the
indigenous people. Moreover, there is a declaration of their right of
self-determination in the form of national autonomy as a part of
Ukrainian state. This position invoked the perplexity of the Russian
representative, for, in his view that might mean the representation of
multi-national population of Crimea by a sole group, accounting for
mere 11 percent of the whole populace of the peninsula. Besides, Mr.
Reshetov asked for information about the conditions of Russian
language in Ukraine, possibilities of its free use, acts of the
Kharkov, Donetsk, Dnepropetrovsk region local government bodies in
that direction. He also shown interest in the economic loses,
experienced by Crimea by the bringing time on the peninsula in
accordance with the rest of Ukraine.
Mr. Garvalov noted, that numerous questions, regarding Crimean Tatars
had remained unanswered. For example, still unclear the obstacles in
the way of Crimean Tatars' receiving Ukrainian citizenship. Isn't the
very fact of their deportation, inspired by Stalin, a sufficient
reason for their acceptance? Why The Autonomous Republic of Crimea
have had, starting from year 1991, a status, different from that of
the other regions? What is the position of the Ukrainian government
regarding the allegations of Mejlis of Crimean Tatar people, described
in the report, which had already been mentioned by Mr. Reshetov, that
the unsettledness of the problem of canceling the citizenship of
Uzbekistan and obtaining Ukrainian citizenship for the Crimean Tatars,
returning to Crimea is a violation of the Bishkek Agreement, ratified
by Ukraine and Uzbekistan in 1993 and 1992 respectively.
Mr. Valensia Rodriges welcomed the efforts of Ukraine to assist the
returning of people, deported in the period of totalitarian regime
because of their national background. Among other notes, the expert
mentioned, that the information, given in the government report,
concerned with the existence of special constitutional clause,
guaranteeing the direct application of the international law, as a
part of inner legislation of Ukraine, has not been confirmed by
concrete patterns of use by courts and inquired for recollection of
existing precedents, if there are any. Besides, in his opinion, the
acknowledgment by Ukraine its citizens' right to apply to the
international bodies should be confirmed by disseminating of
information about those mechanisms in the languages of main minorities
of the state. He asked to name the concrete measures taken for the
impartiality and independence of courts and describe their results; to
explain the power of interdepartmental committee, concerned with
publications, propagandizing ethnic and racial hatred and bring in
examples of such measures taken in concrete situations. In conclusion
he said that the report of Ukraine and Committee's conclusions should
be published, in Ukrainian and in the languages of main minorities.
Our comment: the first thing that attracts attention in the Government
report is the reference to international and domestic non-governmental
human rights protection organizations. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian
legislation does not have such a conception. Moreover, their activity
contradicts the Ukrainian law "On People's Unions", because of there
are described the goals, to achieve which the public organizations
could be created. Among them, unfortunately there is no place for
human rights protection organizations.
It is not clear, whether the Government officials use the term
"national minority" regarding Crimean Tatars consciously or that was
casual? We think that the question of UN experts concerning the status
of this nation is reasonable. Most likely, the Government has not a
clear answer to this question.
And the last thing. We have only to hope and wait, that one of the
recommendations of the UN Committee concerning publishing and
disseminating of this report materials will be fulfilled, and
sorrowful tradition of not permitting the population of access to such
an information will be, at last, ended.
(material is published in brief)
The issue has been prepared by Kara Haydar, Susana Izetova;
Translated into English by Alim Memetov, Kemal Seitveliev;
(Translators are apologizing for possible wrong translation of
people's name in the articles.)
The bulletin is issued due to the financial assistance of the
Institute for Democracy in Eastern Europe (the start grant of the
social organization "Ukrainian House")
Our address: 334410 P.B. 16, Bakhchisaray, Crimea, Ukraine
tel/fax: (+38 06554) 40221 e-mail: [email protected]
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