Public discussion of the Concept of the State Targeted National and Cultural Program “Unity in Diversity” has ended

The public discussion of the draft Concept of the State Targeted National and Cultural Program “Unity in Diversity” has ended. This discussion was held by the State Service for Ethnic Affairs and Freedom of Conscience (DESS) in the context of the development of legal mechanisms for the implementation of the Law of Ukraine “On National Minorities (Communities) of Ukraine”.

According to the results, 13 letters with written proposals were received and 8 meetings were held with representatives of national minorities (communities), indigenous peoples and the expert community regarding the discussion of the draft Concept and implementation of the Law of Ukraine “On National Minorities (Communities) of Ukraine”, in particular:

• online discussion of the draft Concept, available to the general public (30.01.2023);
• online consultations with representatives of non-governmental organizations of Romanian (16.01.2023), Hungarian (27.01.2023), Moldovan (27.01.2023), Polish (02.01.2023) and Bulgarian (02.01.2023) national minorities (communities);
• meeting of the Public Council of DESS (03.02.2023);
• online meeting of the Expert Council on Ethnic Affairs at DESS (31.01.2023).

DESS will inform about the results of the public discussion separately in the near future on its own official web resources.

If you still have suggestions regarding the specifics of the implementation of the Law of Ukraine “On National Minorities (Communities) of Ukraine”, please send them to the e-mail consultations@dess.gov.ua or contact the responsible employees of DESS:

• Viktor Kovrey, Head of the Department of Cooperation with Ethnic Communities (viktor.kovrey@dess.gov.ua);
• Mykhailo Livariuk, Chief Specialist of the Department of Analytics and Strategic Planning (mykhailo.livariuk@dess.gov.ua).

We express our gratitude to all those who remain non-indifferent and make their own contribution to improving the quality of state policy in the field of interethnic affairs, protecting the rights of national minorities (communities) and indigenous peoples, and to the quality of Ukraine’s implementation of the European Commission’s recommendation to improve the legal framework for national minorities (communities).