Council of Europe sees Ukraine gains on Roma, LGBTI rights

The Council of Europe's European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) has released a report highlighting Ukraine's advancements in protecting Roma and LGBTI rights, while also identifying ongoing challenges. ECRI acknowledges the exceptional circumstances caused by Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and evaluates legislative progress, gaps, and areas for improvement in three main domains: effective equality and access to rights, hate speech and hate-motivated violence, and integration and inclusion.

The report commends the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, who has strengthened cooperation with civil society and provided police training on investigating hate crimes. New strategies and policies for Roma inclusion have been adopted, as well as political commitments towards LGBTI equality. However, ECRI identifies concerns, particularly regarding hate speech, misclassification of hate incidents, access to healthcare for LGBTI individuals, especially transgender people, and the lack of Roma history and culture in school curricula.

ECRI presents 15 recommendations for Ukraine, emphasizing the need to ensure equal education for Roma children, combat LGBTI-phobic bullying in schools, and expand equality and hate crime legislation to include sexual orientation, gender identity, sex characteristics, ethnic origin, and skin color. ECRI stresses the importance of nationwide information campaigns to prevent hate speech and the establishment of an inclusive working group to assist Roma lacking proper identity documents.