Statement of Taras Karasiichuk, President, UPO “Gay-Alliance Ukraine” on the bill No.2342 “On the principles for preventing and countering discrimination in Ukraine”
“We are disappointed with the situation that has developed around the bill No.2342. Judging from the dynamics of the events unfolding in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, anti-discrimination law will not to be adopted in the nearest future. At the same time I believe that a postponement of consideration of a bill by no means should affect the process of European integration and liberalization of the EU visa regime for Ukraine, – states Taras Karasiichuk, the leader of All-Ukrainian Public Organization “Gay-Alliance Ukraine”. – We would not want that the delays in the adoption of the bill No.2342, in particular ensuring of anti-discrimination policies for LGBT on the legislative level, caused EU refusal to sign the agreement on association and suspension of visa liberalization processes. For our country the progress in implementation of the European integration strategies is a guarantee that Human Rights in Ukraine will be also available for LGBT, – if not right away, but certainly later, in the foreseeable future. The signing of the agreement and the further liberalization of the visa regime will bring Ukraine closer to the EU and will make it more receptive to the EU’s basic human rights standards. Accordingly, it is possible to sacrifice something today for the sake of unconditional victory in the future.
We appeal to the representatives of the European Union with a request to sign the Association agreement with Ukraine at the November summit in Vilnius. Also, once again we would like to call on to all the people’s deputies of Ukraine to revise this issue after the holidays, in September and to approve the bill No.2342 and, thus, to take real steps for extermination of homophobia in Ukraine”, – called Taras Karasiichuk.
On the history of the issue
The negotiations between Ukraine and the EU on the Association were launched in 2007, and on a Free Trade Area (FTA), which is part of the Association Agreement, – in 2008. In the end of 2011, the parties announced the completion of negotiations, and on March 30, 2012 – initialed the agreement. On December 10, 2012 The Foreign Affairs Council of the EU adopted conclusion on Ukraine and declared its readiness to sign the Association Agreement before the Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius (planned for November 2013) provided Ukrainian progress in changing the electoral law, solving the problem of selective justice and the continuation of the reform within the agenda of the Association. As previously was explained by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Leonid Kozhara, the EU demanded inclusion of based on sexual orientation anti-discrimination policies into the Labor Code of Ukraine, that was done. Thus, refusing not only to adopt, but even to consider the above mentioned bill, Ukrainian authorities put themselves in an unpleasant situation, making it clear that the association with the EU is not really necessary for Ukraine.
“Ukraine plans this year to sign an association agreement and a free trade zone with the European Union”, – said President Viktor Yanukovych.
The adoption of the bill “On the principles for preventing and countering discrimination in Ukraine” was provided by the Action Plan on Visa Liberalization (APVL), which had been developed by Brussels in 2010. It lists the requirements for a visa-free regime for short-stay travel to EU for the citizens of the Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries. One of the conditions — a guarantee of no discrimination towards the representatives of various groups, including sexual minorities, by their employers. According to EU, it allows to decrease risks of risks of an influx of refugees representing the minorities into the European Union. Kyiv has repeatedly declared that awaiting transfer to the second stage of APVL in November 2013, during the Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius. Given the long complex procedure of reconciliation of decisions in EU, Ukraine has to provide the repot on implementation of the first phase of the plan not later than July. Nevertheless, the adoption of the bill “On the principles for preventing and countering discrimination in Ukraine” postponed until the September because of the refusal to consider the bill No.2342 by Ukrainian parliament.
The European Union can come back to the issue on signing of the Association Agreement with Ukraine in case of its a failure in November of this year, not earlier than in summer 2015. Such opinion was expressed by the EU Ambassador to Ukraine, Jan Tombinski, at the conference “Inside Ukraine”. He also added that Ukrainian politics reminds him of fragmented patchwork: some measures are selected, some hardly related to each other measures, picked up from the recommendations of IMF, the EU, Russia, but they are not related. “But in general, there is no strategy” – said Tombinski.
Let us recall that in May 2013, during the consideration of the bill No.2342, homophobic lobby among the warring factions of the Verkhovna Rada was united with the common goal – do not let Ukraine to execute its international obligations to the European Union. Thus, the deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the 6th convocation, the youth leader of the “All-Ukrainian Union of Churches of Evangelical Christians-Baptists”, Chairman of the All-Ukrainian public movement “For the family”, Pavel Unguryan, on the pages of the website of the Union of Churches of Evangelical Christians-Baptists of Ukraine declares: “In case of adoption of the bill No.2342 “On the principles for preventing and countering discrimination in Ukraine” under the guise of combating discrimination it would be prohibited to express any criticism and limits towards sexual minorities, thus under the guise of “anti-discrimination” they will get unprecedented freedom and legal protection.
In the faction of the Party of Regions a group was formed that intends to block the adoption of the bill, which provides for the legalization of gay rights. It was reported by the deputy of the Party of Regions Vadym Kolesnichenko. As “the servant of the people” stated, he announced the decision of the Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, as well as its own position on the inadmissibility of voting for the bill. “A group of deputies of the Party of Regions has already announced the slogan “We are going into Europe, but not…through this place”. That’s why if I must go to Europe only through this place, I do not need such Europe”, – mentioned “the main anti-queer” of the country.
It is noteworthy that the opposition has also experienced the acute attack of homophobia. Which, however, is slightly out of luck: along with the bill No.2342 insidious “Regionals” derailed also a double-bill No.2342-1 by «Svoboda» deputies Igor Miroshnichenko and Oleksandr Myrny. In which the authors routinely demanded stigmatize Ukrainophobes, but suggested the deletion of sexual orientation from the list of grounds on which discrimination is possible or appeals.
At the request of the head of the Party of Regions, Alexander Efremov, on May 14, 2013 the bill No.2342 was withdrawn from consideration and postponed until September 2013.
For the full version of the events on this bill, please visit the Web-site of the newspaper “Kommersant-Ukraine” in the article “Stand-by”.
Автор: Press Service of APO “Gay-Alliance Ukraine”
