Welcome to the United Nations 
OHCHR 
Press releases Treaty bodies
UKRAINE PRESENTS REPORT TO COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION
09 August 2001
Share
CERD
59th session
9 August 2001
Afternoon
Committee Adopts Text on the Effect of Slavery and Colonialism
on the Enjoyment of Human Rights
The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination this afternoon started its consideration of a report presented by Ukraine on how that country was implementing the provisions of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
Introducing the report, Hrygoriy Sereda, Director of the State Department on Nationalities and Migration Issues of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, said that Ukraine was continuing a comprehensive reform of its legislation, including its criminal codes and procedures; and an appeals court system had been established.
Mr. Sereda also said that the right to freedom of religion was respected by the State and several worship places had been opened while nationalized premises had been returned to their previous owners; and as of 1 January 1997, there were 69 churches and other religious groupings active in Ukraine, forming 19,031 communities.
Gay McDougall, the Committee Expert who acted as country rapporteur to the report of Ukraine, said that the country was a newly independent State that was still in a delicate period of transition; it was confronted with a serious economic crisis, rendered even more acute by the sudden switch to liberal economic policies. She said Ukraine had adopted a forward looking Constitution and numerous positive laws and measures in the area of the protection of human rights of its citizens. Recently, Ukraine had abolished the death penalty, and that was a very much welcomed step.
Also participating in the debate were Committee members Regis de Gouttes, Yuri A. Reshetov, Ion Diaconu, Gabriele Britz, Raghavan Vasudevan Pillai, Patrick Thornberry, Michael E. Sherifis, Luis Valencia Rodriguez, Agha Shahi, Mahmoud Aboul-Nasr, Marc Boussuyt and Patricia Nozipho January-Bardill.
The Ukrainian delegation was also made up of Raoul Chilachava, First Deputy Director of the State Department on Nationalities and Migration Issues of the Ministry of Justice; Mykola Novychenko, First Head of the State Committee on Religious Issues; Volodymyr T'otkin, Director in the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy; Mykola Yerukh, Deputy Head of a Department in the Ministry of Interior; and Volodymyr Khrystych, Acting Head of the Division of Human Rights and Social Issues in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Ukraine is among the 157 States parties to the Convention and as such it is required to submit periodic reports to the Committee on its activities to implement the provisions of the treaty.
Also this afternoon, the Committee adopted a text on the effect of slavery and colonialism, among others, on the enjoyment of human rights. The Committee said that the text could help the Preparatory Committee for the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance Conference in its work. Recognition of and reparation for acts of slavery and colonialism have been among the stumbling blocks facing the Preparatory Committee.
The Committee will continue its consideration of the report of Ukraine when it reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Friday, 10 August.
Report of Ukraine
The fifteenth and sixteenth periodic reports of Ukraine, presented in one document CERD/C/384/Add.2, enumerate the administrative, legislative and judicial measures undertaken by the Government in order to comply with the provisions of the Convention. The document says that the right to equality before the law in all areas of economic, social, political and cultural life is guaranteed under the Constitution. The obligation of citizens to respect the culture, language, traditions, customs and rites of national minorities is enshrined in article 2 of the National Minorities Act and article II of the Principles of Ukrainian Cultural Legislation.
The report says that a voluntary organization which monitors publications of an anti-Semitic persuasion has supplied information which said that 260 such publications appeared in 1998. The organization notes an increase in the number of publications denouncing anti-Semitism. Publications representing various shades of political opinion have condemned cases of anti-Semitism, and the number of publications taking a conceptual approach to the subject has also increased.
It was noted in the report that the President of the country has condemned ethnic intolerance and has urged all Ukrainian citizens, political parties and organizations to create a climate opposed to any such shameful practices in the country. The President noted that incitement to inter-ethnic hatred is all the more odious in view of the great efforts that have been made in recent years to preserve, safeguard and develop the national identity of the Polish, Jewish, Hungarian, Romanian and other national minorities living in Ukraine.
The report says that the Constitution prohibits the establishment and activity of political parties and voluntary organizations whose stated aims or actions are calculated to destroy the independence of Ukraine.
Presentation of Report
HRYGORIY SEREDA, Director of the State Department on Nationalities and Migration Issues of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, said that Ukraine was continuing a comprehensive reform of its legislation, including its criminal codes and procedures. An appeals court system had been established. In addition, the courts were endowed with additional power to hear cases of human rights violations.
A programme had been set up for illegal migration while the law on refugees had been strengthened, Mr. Sereda said. Ukraine had also acceded to the treaty on statelessness.
The Ukrainian society was composed of different ethnic groups and national minorities, Mr. Sereda said. Legal measures had been taken to protect and promote the rights of national minorities. Their rights to education and freedom of religion had been further been reinforced by the State.
The Government's efforts in promoting minority rights had been strengthened through the establishment of the State Department on Nationalities and Migration Issues, the Director said. Legal and similar measures were initiated by the Department. Cultural centres had been created throughout the country. Further, radio transmission was programmed in minority languages in addition to newspapers and other periodicals published in minority languages.
Crimean Tartars who were deported half a century ago had been resettled in Ukraine with the help of the Government, the delegation said. The Government, with the assistance of international partners, had built the necessary infrastructure such as schools and health centres, and other essential establishments had been constructed in the areas inhabited by the Crimean Tartars.
Ukraine was a multi-ethnic State with more than 110 nationalities and ethnic groups living in its territory, Mr. Sereda said. The main indigenous nationality was Ukrainians with 37,4 million of the total population, according to the 1989 census. The other ethnic groups, which total around 14 million persons, included 11.4 million Russians; the remaining were Jews, Belarusians, Moldovans, Bulgarians, Poles, Hungarians, Romanians and others.
With regard to the Roma population, Mr. Sereda said that the State had made efforts to accommodate that minority group and had taken a series of measures concerning health and education services for Roma.
The right to freedom of religion was respected by the State and several worship places had been opened while nationalized premises had been returned to their previous owners, Mr. Sereda said. As of 1 January 1997, there were 69 churches and other religious groupings active in Ukraine, forming 19,031 communities.
The number of refugees coming from many parts of the world had increased during recent years, Mr. Sereda said. Many of them came from Afghanistan and African countries. The Government had been providing assistance to the refugees, despite its economic difficulties.
Mr. Sereda said that laws had been enacted on citizenship and modalities had been adopted for its acquisition. In addition, agreements had been reached with Uzbekistan and Khazakstan on citizenship issues.
Discussion of Ukrainian Report
GAY MCDOUGALL, the Committee Expert who acted as country rapporteur to the report of Ukraine, said that the country was a newly independent State that was still in a delicate period of transition: it was confronted with a serious economic crisis, rendered even more acute by the sudden switch to liberal economic policies. Ukraine had adopted a forward looking Constitution and numerous positive laws and measures in the area of the protection of human rights of its citizens. Recently, Ukraine had abolished the death penalty, and that was a very much welcomed step.
Ms. McDougall said that the report provided estimated proportions and absolute numbers for the major ethnic groups residing in Ukraine, however, the Government failed to name and provide statistics for numerous smaller ethnic groups, for example the Armenians. Most notably, both the core document and the current Government report failed to make any mention of Roma, one of the most severely persecuted groups in Ukraine. According to information from the European Roma Rights Centre, between 12,000 to 30,000 Roma lived in Ukraine. It would be extremely useful to have updated demographic data.
Ms. McDougall said that the structure of the State report was unsatisfactory as was that of the previous report; there was insufficient information to evaluate whether the requirements of articles 2 and 4 of the Convention had been satisfied; and there appeared to be a misunderstanding about the meaning of article 3 of the Convention -- the information supplied under that article bore no relation to its meaning.
Ms. McDougall further said that the Constitution and other provisions relating to national minorities showed positive efforts in terms of legislation and measures taken in the field of language and culture to establish a climate conducive to a multicultural society built on mutual respect and appreciation of diversity. However, the State party should consider whether the constitutional provisions and general legislation were specific and comprehensive enough with respect to racial discrimination to meet the requirements of the articles of the Convention. The State party should put in place detailed legislation prohibiting racial discrimination to supplement the other more general and generous legislation respecting the language and culture of national minorities.
Ukraine had a number of provisions prohibiting the dissemination of racial and ethnic bigotry, Ms. McDougall said. Those provisions also prohibited the creation of organizations and political parties that were based upon racial hatred or discrimination. The Government had also taken several commendable steps to rebuke and even prosecute publications and organizations for fomenting anti-Semitism and inter-ethnic hatred. The Government report was still deficient in giving the Committee enough information to assure that the full requirements of article 4 of the Constitution had been met.
Quoting a United States State Department report, Ms. McDougall said that the frequent harassment of racial minorities was an increasing problem, which applied especially to persons who belonged to the Roma ethnic group. There were numerous reports that Ukrainian police had engaged in various human rights abuses against the Roma, including "prophylactic" arrests, forced labour, torture, and illegal detention. In addition, the report said that "police routinely detain dark-skinned persons for arbitrary document checks" and that there had been increased reports of racially motivated violence against persons of African or Asian heritage.
Ms. McDougall asked the delegation about the kind of training received by the police and other law enforcement officials regarding human rights. Were all official agents of the Government aware that Ukraine had ratified conventions such as the Convention against Torture and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and were they told what those treaties entailed and required of them as police officers? What measures were being taken to combat the abuse, intimidation, illegal detention and the forced extraction of confessions from Roma individuals? What disciplinary measures had been taken against the officers who faced charges such as police brutality and arbitrary detention?
Ms. McDougall said Ukraine did have some programmes to help encourage ethnic tolerance, at least for most groups. Nonetheless, intolerant societal attitudes were present in the Ukraine for at least two minorities -- the Roma and the Jews. The Government had made statements regarding anti-Semitism and had included programmes and lessons in the educational system designed to reduce anti-Semitism.
In conclusion, Ms. McDougall requested the delegation to give the Committee detailed information about the work of the office of the Human Rights Ombudsman with respect to complaints of racial and ethnic discrimination. Why had the courts and tribunals of Ukraine not been seized upon to enforce laws relating to racial and ethnic discrimination? If such claims had been made, how were they adjusted?
Other Committee Experts also commented on the report of Ukraine on issues such as the situation of Roma and their harassment by police; the return and resettlement of Crimean Tartars; and the demographic composition of Ukrainian population and its tendency to decrease, among other things.
Committee's Text on the Effect of Slavery and Colonialism on the Enjoyment of Human Rights
The Committee adopted the following text without a vote. It said that the text could help the Preparatory Committee for the World Conference against Racism in its work.
"The World Conference, reaffirming the principles of dignity and equality inherent in all human beings who are entitled to equal protection of the law against any discrimination and against any incitement to discrimination, recognizes the consequences on the enjoyment of human rights of slavery, the slave trade, colonialism, apartheid, foreign occupation and other forms of servitude.
The World Conference, taking into account the provisions of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, encourages States to promulgate and apply social, economic, cultural and other measures to make reparation for and correct the adverse consequences of those practices on victims who are still most affected by them, with the purpose of ensuring the adequate development and protection of those victims."
59th session
9 August 2001
Afternoon
Committee Adopts Text on the Effect of Slavery and Colonialism
on the Enjoyment of Human Rights
The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination this afternoon started its consideration of a report presented by Ukraine on how that country was implementing the provisions of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
Introducing the report, Hrygoriy Sereda, Director of the State Department on Nationalities and Migration Issues of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, said that Ukraine was continuing a comprehensive reform of its legislation, including its criminal codes and procedures; and an appeals court system had been established.
Mr. Sereda also said that the right to freedom of religion was respected by the State and several worship places had been opened while nationalized premises had been returned to their previous owners; and as of 1 January 1997, there were 69 churches and other religious groupings active in Ukraine, forming 19,031 communities.
Gay McDougall, the Committee Expert who acted as country rapporteur to the report of Ukraine, said that the country was a newly independent State that was still in a delicate period of transition; it was confronted with a serious economic crisis, rendered even more acute by the sudden switch to liberal economic policies. She said Ukraine had adopted a forward looking Constitution and numerous positive laws and measures in the area of the protection of human rights of its citizens. Recently, Ukraine had abolished the death penalty, and that was a very much welcomed step.
Also participating in the debate were Committee members Regis de Gouttes, Yuri A. Reshetov, Ion Diaconu, Gabriele Britz, Raghavan Vasudevan Pillai, Patrick Thornberry, Michael E. Sherifis, Luis Valencia Rodriguez, Agha Shahi, Mahmoud Aboul-Nasr, Marc Boussuyt and Patricia Nozipho January-Bardill.
The Ukrainian delegation was also made up of Raoul Chilachava, First Deputy Director of the State Department on Nationalities and Migration Issues of the Ministry of Justice; Mykola Novychenko, First Head of the State Committee on Religious Issues; Volodymyr T'otkin, Director in the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy; Mykola Yerukh, Deputy Head of a Department in the Ministry of Interior; and Volodymyr Khrystych, Acting Head of the Division of Human Rights and Social Issues in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Ukraine is among the 157 States parties to the Convention and as such it is required to submit periodic reports to the Committee on its activities to implement the provisions of the treaty.
Also this afternoon, the Committee adopted a text on the effect of slavery and colonialism, among others, on the enjoyment of human rights. The Committee said that the text could help the Preparatory Committee for the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance Conference in its work. Recognition of and reparation for acts of slavery and colonialism have been among the stumbling blocks facing the Preparatory Committee.
The Committee will continue its consideration of the report of Ukraine when it reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Friday, 10 August.
Report of Ukraine
The fifteenth and sixteenth periodic reports of Ukraine, presented in one document CERD/C/384/Add.2, enumerate the administrative, legislative and judicial measures undertaken by the Government in order to comply with the provisions of the Convention. The document says that the right to equality before the law in all areas of economic, social, political and cultural life is guaranteed under the Constitution. The obligation of citizens to respect the culture, language, traditions, customs and rites of national minorities is enshrined in article 2 of the National Minorities Act and article II of the Principles of Ukrainian Cultural Legislation.
The report says that a voluntary organization which monitors publications of an anti-Semitic persuasion has supplied information which said that 260 such publications appeared in 1998. The organization notes an increase in the number of publications denouncing anti-Semitism. Publications representing various shades of political opinion have condemned cases of anti-Semitism, and the number of publications taking a conceptual approach to the subject has also increased.
It was noted in the report that the President of the country has condemned ethnic intolerance and has urged all Ukrainian citizens, political parties and organizations to create a climate opposed to any such shameful practices in the country. The President noted that incitement to inter-ethnic hatred is all the more odious in view of the great efforts that have been made in recent years to preserve, safeguard and develop the national identity of the Polish, Jewish, Hungarian, Romanian and other national minorities living in Ukraine.
The report says that the Constitution prohibits the establishment and activity of political parties and voluntary organizations whose stated aims or actions are calculated to destroy the independence of Ukraine.
Presentation of Report
HRYGORIY SEREDA, Director of the State Department on Nationalities and Migration Issues of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, said that Ukraine was continuing a comprehensive reform of its legislation, including its criminal codes and procedures. An appeals court system had been established. In addition, the courts were endowed with additional power to hear cases of human rights violations.
A programme had been set up for illegal migration while the law on refugees had been strengthened, Mr. Sereda said. Ukraine had also acceded to the treaty on statelessness.
The Ukrainian society was composed of different ethnic groups and national minorities, Mr. Sereda said. Legal measures had been taken to protect and promote the rights of national minorities. Their rights to education and freedom of religion had been further been reinforced by the State.
The Government's efforts in promoting minority rights had been strengthened through the establishment of the State Department on Nationalities and Migration Issues, the Director said. Legal and similar measures were initiated by the Department. Cultural centres had been created throughout the country. Further, radio transmission was programmed in minority languages in addition to newspapers and other periodicals published in minority languages.
Crimean Tartars who were deported half a century ago had been resettled in Ukraine with the help of the Government, the delegation said. The Government, with the assistance of international partners, had built the necessary infrastructure such as schools and health centres, and other essential establishments had been constructed in the areas inhabited by the Crimean Tartars.
Ukraine was a multi-ethnic State with more than 110 nationalities and ethnic groups living in its territory, Mr. Sereda said. The main indigenous nationality was Ukrainians with 37,4 million of the total population, according to the 1989 census. The other ethnic groups, which total around 14 million persons, included 11.4 million Russians; the remaining were Jews, Belarusians, Moldovans, Bulgarians, Poles, Hungarians, Romanians and others.
With regard to the Roma population, Mr. Sereda said that the State had made efforts to accommodate that minority group and had taken a series of measures concerning health and education services for Roma.
The right to freedom of religion was respected by the State and several worship places had been opened while nationalized premises had been returned to their previous owners, Mr. Sereda said. As of 1 January 1997, there were 69 churches and other religious groupings active in Ukraine, forming 19,031 communities.
The number of refugees coming from many parts of the world had increased during recent years, Mr. Sereda said. Many of them came from Afghanistan and African countries. The Government had been providing assistance to the refugees, despite its economic difficulties.
Mr. Sereda said that laws had been enacted on citizenship and modalities had been adopted for its acquisition. In addition, agreements had been reached with Uzbekistan and Khazakstan on citizenship issues.
Discussion of Ukrainian Report
GAY MCDOUGALL, the Committee Expert who acted as country rapporteur to the report of Ukraine, said that the country was a newly independent State that was still in a delicate period of transition: it was confronted with a serious economic crisis, rendered even more acute by the sudden switch to liberal economic policies. Ukraine had adopted a forward looking Constitution and numerous positive laws and measures in the area of the protection of human rights of its citizens. Recently, Ukraine had abolished the death penalty, and that was a very much welcomed step.
Ms. McDougall said that the report provided estimated proportions and absolute numbers for the major ethnic groups residing in Ukraine, however, the Government failed to name and provide statistics for numerous smaller ethnic groups, for example the Armenians. Most notably, both the core document and the current Government report failed to make any mention of Roma, one of the most severely persecuted groups in Ukraine. According to information from the European Roma Rights Centre, between 12,000 to 30,000 Roma lived in Ukraine. It would be extremely useful to have updated demographic data.
Ms. McDougall said that the structure of the State report was unsatisfactory as was that of the previous report; there was insufficient information to evaluate whether the requirements of articles 2 and 4 of the Convention had been satisfied; and there appeared to be a misunderstanding about the meaning of article 3 of the Convention -- the information supplied under that article bore no relation to its meaning.
Ms. McDougall further said that the Constitution and other provisions relating to national minorities showed positive efforts in terms of legislation and measures taken in the field of language and culture to establish a climate conducive to a multicultural society built on mutual respect and appreciation of diversity. However, the State party should consider whether the constitutional provisions and general legislation were specific and comprehensive enough with respect to racial discrimination to meet the requirements of the articles of the Convention. The State party should put in place detailed legislation prohibiting racial discrimination to supplement the other more general and generous legislation respecting the language and culture of national minorities.
Ukraine had a number of provisions prohibiting the dissemination of racial and ethnic bigotry, Ms. McDougall said. Those provisions also prohibited the creation of organizations and political parties that were based upon racial hatred or discrimination. The Government had also taken several commendable steps to rebuke and even prosecute publications and organizations for fomenting anti-Semitism and inter-ethnic hatred. The Government report was still deficient in giving the Committee enough information to assure that the full requirements of article 4 of the Constitution had been met.
Quoting a United States State Department report, Ms. McDougall said that the frequent harassment of racial minorities was an increasing problem, which applied especially to persons who belonged to the Roma ethnic group. There were numerous reports that Ukrainian police had engaged in various human rights abuses against the Roma, including "prophylactic" arrests, forced labour, torture, and illegal detention. In addition, the report said that "police routinely detain dark-skinned persons for arbitrary document checks" and that there had been increased reports of racially motivated violence against persons of African or Asian heritage.
Ms. McDougall asked the delegation about the kind of training received by the police and other law enforcement officials regarding human rights. Were all official agents of the Government aware that Ukraine had ratified conventions such as the Convention against Torture and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and were they told what those treaties entailed and required of them as police officers? What measures were being taken to combat the abuse, intimidation, illegal detention and the forced extraction of confessions from Roma individuals? What disciplinary measures had been taken against the officers who faced charges such as police brutality and arbitrary detention?
Ms. McDougall said Ukraine did have some programmes to help encourage ethnic tolerance, at least for most groups. Nonetheless, intolerant societal attitudes were present in the Ukraine for at least two minorities -- the Roma and the Jews. The Government had made statements regarding anti-Semitism and had included programmes and lessons in the educational system designed to reduce anti-Semitism.
In conclusion, Ms. McDougall requested the delegation to give the Committee detailed information about the work of the office of the Human Rights Ombudsman with respect to complaints of racial and ethnic discrimination. Why had the courts and tribunals of Ukraine not been seized upon to enforce laws relating to racial and ethnic discrimination? If such claims had been made, how were they adjusted?
Other Committee Experts also commented on the report of Ukraine on issues such as the situation of Roma and their harassment by police; the return and resettlement of Crimean Tartars; and the demographic composition of Ukrainian population and its tendency to decrease, among other things.
Committee's Text on the Effect of Slavery and Colonialism on the Enjoyment of Human Rights
The Committee adopted the following text without a vote. It said that the text could help the Preparatory Committee for the World Conference against Racism in its work.
"The World Conference, reaffirming the principles of dignity and equality inherent in all human beings who are entitled to equal protection of the law against any discrimination and against any incitement to discrimination, recognizes the consequences on the enjoyment of human rights of slavery, the slave trade, colonialism, apartheid, foreign occupation and other forms of servitude.
The World Conference, taking into account the provisions of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, encourages States to promulgate and apply social, economic, cultural and other measures to make reparation for and correct the adverse consequences of those practices on victims who are still most affected by them, with the purpose of ensuring the adequate development and protection of those victims."
VIEW THIS PAGE IN: