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.
