On October 23, our Association’s expert Borys Babin took part in a press conference on the topic: “From law to action: a roadmap for the implementation of the rights of indigenous peoples of Ukraine,” which was held in Kyiv by the State Service of Ukraine on Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience (DESS) and the Crimean Tatar Resource Center. The event was also attended by the Deputy Head of the aforementioned DESS, Ihor Lossovsky, by the representatives of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, Refat Chubarov and Eskender Bariiev, and by a number of experts.
During the event, a roadmap for the implementation of the rights of indigenous peoples of Ukraine was presented, as a document approved by the advisory council of the DESS, which contains specific steps and measures to implement the provisions of the law “On Indigenous Peoples of Ukraine.” The participants of the press conference also spoke about the mechanisms for protecting the rights of indigenous peoples in international institutions.
Among other things, Professor Babin pointed out the specifics of the international landscape that accompanies the implementation of the law “On the Indigenous Peoples of Ukraine” in the context of large-scale Russian aggression, focusing on the decisions of the International Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights.
The expert paid special attention to the prerequisites and prospects of cases in the European Court against the aggressor state related to the aggressor’s persecution of the representative bodies of the Crimean Tatars, the communication of which began this October.
Borys Babin paid special attention to the need for a systematic response by Ukraine to the relevant cases, which the European Court suggested entering the cases as a third party, the expert emphasized the need for appropriate joint procedural work, indicated by the DESS, the Ukraine’s Ministry of Justice and the Mejlis.
Regarding the law “On Indigenous Peoples of Ukraine” itself, Professor Babin critically assessed the proposals of individual Ukrainian officials to expand the list of indigenous peoples in it at the expense of ethnic groups that live in a compact majority in a neighboring European country, since such a step should be preceded by at least agreement on the government positions of both states – candidates for accession to the European Union.
