Crimean Tatars, Crimean Karaites, Krymchaks are indigenous peoples of Ukraine – presidential bill

The explanatory note states that the purpose of the document is to determine the legal status of the indigenous peoples of Ukraine and to establish legal guarantees for the full enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by persons belonging to the indigenous peoples of Ukraine established by international law and the Constitution and laws of Ukraine.

Thus, according to the bill, the concept of "indigenous people of Ukraine" is defined as "indigenous ethnic community formed in the territory of Ukraine which has original language and culture, traditional, social, cultural, or representative bodies, is self-aware as the indigenous people of Ukraine, an ethnic minority in its population and has no state formation of its own outside Ukraine." According to this definition, the draft law proposes to establish that Crimean Tatars, Crimean Karaites, and Krymchaks are the indigenous peoples of Ukraine.

In accordance with the provisions of the legislative act, the indigenous peoples of Ukraine and their representatives have the collective and individual right to the full enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms as defined in the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and in international treaties, the binding nature of which was approved by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, as well as those provided for in the Constitution and laws of Ukraine.

The draft law also defines guarantees for legal protection from any actions aimed at: deprivation of signs of ethnicity and integrity as original peoples, deprivation of cultural values, eviction or forced relocation from areas of compact settlement in any form, forced assimilation or forced integration in any form, encouragement or incitement of racial, ethnic or religious hatred against the indigenous peoples of Ukraine.

The draft law guarantees the cultural, educational, linguistic, and informational rights of the indigenous peoples of Ukraine, as well as the rights of the indigenous peoples of Ukraine to sustainable development.

The draft law also provides for the determination of the legal status of representative bodies of the indigenous peoples of Ukraine, their resource provision, as well as the issue of international representation.

As reported, President Zelensky registered draft law No. 5506 "On Indigenous Peoples of Ukraine" in the Verkhovna Rada on May 18, 2021.

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