Ukraine Letter from Congress
Chairman, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine
01008 Kyiv-8, 5 Hreshevskoho Street
Ukraine
We write today to urge you to ensure that as legal and constitutional reforms advance in Ukraine, the principles of equality and non-discrimination in human rights and state protection become firmly entrenched in Ukrainian law. We support the enjoyment of constitutionally protected rights of all Ukrainian citizens without discrimination. We applaud the prohibition of discrimination on the grounds of “gender, race, skincolor, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or other opinion, belonging to indigenous peoples and national minority, material standing, residence, disability, age or other grounds” in Article 42 of the draft of the new Constitution. However, the draft does not explicitly ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. This is a prime opportunity to send a message that violence and discrimination against LGBTI people is not acceptable.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) people in Ukraine endure regular discrimination and violence for which there is rarely accountability. The most recent example was the June 2015 Kyiv Equality March, which was marred by violent attacks in which nearly two dozen police officers and participants were injured. This attack was clearly targeted at LGBTI people and those who support and promote their rights.
Mark Takano
Raul M. Grijalva
Alan Lowenthal
Jared Polis
Jim McDermott
Mark DeSaulnier
Keith Ellison
Dina Titus
Eleanor Holmes Norton
Jackie Speier
James P. McGovern
Patrick Murphy
Eliot L. Engel
Sheila Jackson Lee
Nadia M. Velazquez
Elizabeth H. Esty
Marcy Kaptur
Mike Quigley
Kyrsten Simema
James R. Langevin
Charles B. Rangel
Zoe Lofgren
Bill Pascrell, Jr.
Mark Pocan
Judy Chu
Chelsie Pingree
Bill Foster
Steve Cohen
Katherine M. Clark
Bobby L. Rush
William R. Keating
Adam B. Schiff
Michael E. Capuano
Jan Schakowsky
Sean Patrick Maloney
Theodore E. Deutch
Jarrold Nadler
Michael M. Honda
Dan Kildee
Leave a Reply
Want to join the discussion?Feel free to contribute!