The Venice Commission recommends revising or clarifying a number of provisions of the law “On National Minorities (Communities)”, in particular removing the obligation to translate information about public events into Ukrainian or at least revising it based on the principle of proportionality.
“From the text of the conclusion: the Venice Commission “appreciates the desire of the Ukrainian authorities to take into account international and European standards for minority protection, as well as – albeit to a limited extent – some of the criticisms expressed by the Commission in previous conclusions.” – The press service of the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olga Stefanishina said in a statement.
It is noted that at the same time, the Venice Commission recommends revising or clarifying a number of provisions of the law “On national minorities (communities)”.
In particular, it is recommended: to extend the right to organize events in minority languages to all persons; to remove the obligation to provide translation of information on public events into Ukrainian or at least revise it in light of the principle of proportionality; to review the obligations related to publishing books in minority languages and bookstores; to provide greater legal certainty regarding the possibility to translate official inscriptions and general information into the minority language.
In addition, it is recommended to provide in the law criteria for the adoption of a methodology to ensure the use of minority languages in contacts with administrative authorities in accordance with the norms of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and Ukraine’s obligations under the European Charter for Regional Languages.
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis in a telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenski called for a review of the law on national minorities adopted in December, some provisions of which have drawn criticism from the Romanian side.
“Passed on to President Zelenski Romanian concerns about the recently passed law on minorities and agreed to intensify dialogue to find solutions that provide the highest standards of protection for the Romanian community in Ukraine, similar to the Ukrainian community in Romania,” Johannis wrote on Twitter.
According to the press service of the Presidential Administration of Romania, the presidents agreed that in the near future, the foreign ministers of the two countries will hold discussions on the bilateral solution of existing issues.
As it was reported, Zelenski signed the bill No. 8224 on December 29, 2022. The document establishes the definition of “national minorities (communities)”; rights, freedoms and obligations of persons belonging to national minorities, peculiarities of state policy on implementation of rights and freedoms of representatives of national minorities, the powers of the central executive body implementing the state policy on protection of rights and freedoms of persons belonging to national minorities.
Article 5 of the draft Law “Rights, Freedoms and Obligations of Persons Belonging to National Minorities (Communities)” guarantees citizens of Ukraine regardless of their ethnic origin, belonging or not belonging to national minorities (communities) the civil, political, social, economic, cultural and linguistic rights and freedoms defined by the Constitution.
A person belonging to a national minority (community) also has the right to self-identification, freedom of public associations and peaceful assembly, freedom of expression of views and beliefs, thought, speech, conscience and religion; participation in political, economic and social life; use of national minority language; education, including in national minority languages; preservation of cultural identity of national community.
Earlier, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania criticized the draft law, noting that the Verkhovna Rada adopted it without additional consultations with the Venice Commission and additional consultations with representatives of the Romanian diaspora in Ukraine. In particular, the Romanian side criticized the unclear regulation of the language of education and the use of languages of national minorities in documentation.
