Cabinet order #850-p of September 26, 2023 

Decision-maker: the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine 

Who is affected: National minorities of Ukraine, State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience, Ministry of Culture and Information Policy, Ministry of Education and Science, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Reintegration, Ministry of Infrastructure, Ministry of Justice, State Property Fund, Ukrainian Institute of National Memory, National Police, State Committee for Television and Radio Broadcasting, State Statistics Service, State Agency for Tourism Development, Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine, National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting, oblast and Kyiv city state administrations 

Summary of the order: a detailed plan for the implementation of the updated Law on National Minorities (Communities): the state national cultural program Unity in Diversity will be implemented until 2034 It defines specific implementers, sources of funding, and expected results: 

  • during the next 10 years, 2.5 billion UAH will be allocated to fund the plan. 1.3 billion UAH — from the government budget, 103 million UAH — from local budgets, over 1 billion UAH is expected from partners 
  • the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience will oversee that the new legislation on national minorities is enforced, ensuring the rights of indigenous peoples, and will interact with regional authorities which will create the required consultative bodies 
  • consultations, annual forums, monitoring of compliance with rights and assessment of the needs of national minorities, as well as regular consultations with relevant foreign states and international organizations will be conducted 
  • competitions for implementing national minority rights at government expense will be conducted 
  • the state will make a list of settlements where national minorities live or where such national minority representatives are a significant part of the population 
  • a methodology for providing topographic information in settlements where national minorities live or where national minority representatives are a significant part of the population will be developed. If needed, traditional names may be returned to toponyms in such settlements 
  • students from national minorities and indigenous peoples will be provided with bilingual textbooks, for which 1.2 billion UAH from the government budget will be allocated. The state will also support the development and dissemination of online courses for studying the languages of national minorities 
  • educational curricula will be extended to deepen the understanding of ethnic diversity 
  • a strategy for preserving languages facing extinction (Urum, Rumei, Karait, and Crimean Tatar) will be developed 
  • Centers for National Minorities, in particular the Center for Cultures of National Minorities of Transcarpathia and Vinnytsia, will be launched at the expense of local budgets 
  • training sessions in fundraising, accounting, etc., will be conducted to enhance the project management capabilities of NGOs of national minorities and representative bodies of indigenous peoples 
  • media that provide information in the languages of national minorities, as well as media promoting the development of languages and cultures of national minorities, will be supported 
  • communities that suffered the most of the armed aggression by Russia (due to military operations and/or temporary occupation) will be additionally supported.

What is right: 

  • for the development of the program Unity in Diversity, the state efficiently included the stakeholders: two public discussions and 20 consultations were held. 16 of these consultations were held with representatives of particular minorities. Representatives of the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, the European Commission, the Council of Europe, and the embassies of countries of ethnic kinship of specific national minorities were also invited 
  • the program allows to consider the specific needs of each national minority separately and offers specific measures to satisfy these needs 
  • the most sensitive issues for these communities were addressed, in particular, education and cultural rights 
  • the program makes a due attempt to take into account more quality indicators, which will make it easier to understand and evaluate the needs of national minorities and indigenous peoples 
  • the program is an important step towards fulfilling the European Commission’s criteria for starting negotiations on the accession of Ukraine to the European Union. 

What is wrong: 

  • a significant part of funding for the needs of national minorities from foreign countries may increase the risk of undue external influence 
  • success indicators of the program do not correspond to the real goal of the program. For example, the number of educational events does not assure the quality of how the cultural needs of national minorities were met.

Background information: 

  • on May 12, the Government approved the concept of the State National Cultural Program Unity in Diversity which will be implemented until 2034. On June 13, the Venice Commission issued an opinion on the Law on National Minorities (Communities). Some recommendations of the commission were quite controversial, in particular regarding the rights of the Russian minority 
  • during the summer, a number of consultations were held with representatives of national minorities, where changes to the draft bill and the government program were agreed upon. On September 21, the Verkhovna Rada passed amendments to the Law on National Minorities (Communities) in the second reading. It is an important step towards starting negotiations on admission to the European Union.