FUEN condemns in Kiev decisions to narrow minority rights in Ukraine

“The fact that the Ukrainian state tries to narrow the minority rights in education, the use of mother tongue, and wants to impose the use of the state language in a manner that affects negatively the existing minority rights is something that we have to condemn” – stated FUEN President Loránt Vincze on Tuesday, 16 October 2018 in Kiev as a conclusion of a meeting that he had with leaders of national minorities from Ukraine together with FUEN Executive Director Éva Pénzes.

The FUEN’s delegation visited Ukraine in preparation for its 70^th Congress and had meetings with local member organisations, the OSCE mission in Ukraine and the European Centre for Minority Issues office in Ukraine. The minority umbrella organisation’s President pointed out that Ukraine chose the European path of integration, and this choice comes with responsibilities, the main one being to respect the democratic rules and the rule of law, and one of the rules defining democracy is that it is not possible for the state to narrow the existing rights. He stressed that taking away existing rights is not acceptable under any international agreement that Ukraine is part of.

Loránt Vincze said that FUEN is aware of the different priorities of the minorities in Ukraine: for the Greeks living in conflict zones security is the main priority, for the Crimean Tatars returning to a peaceful homeland, while education and language provision are priorities for the Hungarian community, the recognition of their community for the Ruthenians. A common problem is the fact that the government does not ensure a partnership in addressing problems, and the lack of understanding can lead to frustrations inside the community, which on long term is bad for the whole of the society.

Loránt Vincze noted that given the different nature of the problems they face cooperation is not always easy between the minority communities of the country, but trying to convince the government together is essential. The threats, the discrimination, the hate speech, the xenophobia against minorities in Ukraine should be rejected by all – he explained.

Regarding the breach in minority rights the FUEN President said: “We need to address the international community with a strong signal, and we will do just that at our Congress in Ukraine. Corruption is not the only problem in Ukraine:  narrowing minority rights is a threat to stability and it threatens the peaceful coexistence of the minorities and the majority”.

All the participants appreciated the fact that the FUEN Anniversary Congress will take place in Ukraine in June 2019 and the different member organisations will have a strong cooperation in preparing a successful event.