COMBATING XENOPHOBIA AND RACISM

Tukhan Ediev called on law enforcement officials to take all necessary measures to stop calls for discrimination and violence against representatives of national and other minorities, drew the attention of those present to the need for legislative and administrative guarantees for the observance of the rights of foreigners and minorities, and also emphasized the need to intensify activities to educate youth in tolerance and intolerance towards manifestations of fascism and xenophobia.

Olga Vesnyanka, editor of the Xenodocuments.org.ua portal, human rights trainer, noted during her speech that a study by the international organization Amnesty International in Ukraine indicates an increase in the number of attacks on people on racial, ethnic or religious grounds, which is worrying. They range from verbal abuse to serious physical assaults and even murder. In addition, anyone who does not look like an average Ukrainian is subject to numerous police checks, leading to extortion or other abuses. The increase in attacks is creating a climate of fear and insecurity, particularly among asylum seekers and refugees. Amnesty International is concerned about the inadequate response of the Ukrainian authorities. Although some measures have been taken in response to international criticism, government officials still show a lack of understanding of the nature of racial discrimination and the seriousness of the problem in Ukraine.

After the speech of the representative of Amnesty International, the seminar participants had the opportunity to watch and comment on the documentary

films

“Purgatory” and “Fortress Ukraine” about the situation of migrants and

refugees in Ukraine.

Maksym Butkevych, a representative of the Initiative “Without Borders”, noted that today in Ukraine the internal affairs bodies do not conduct a separate record of crimes committed on the grounds of racial or national hatred, or such crimes are classified as hooliganism; victims do not contact the police, considering it a waste of time, not trusting them, or due to previous negative communication experience, fearing them; There is no comprehensive non-governmental monitoring system for such cases that would provide a picture even remotely similar to the real one, due to the lack of an established information collection system.

“Racist violence almost never ends in prosecution under the relevant articles of the Criminal Code, so it is impossible to rely on statistics of court verdicts. Obtaining information about court decisions is also very difficult,” Mr. Butkevych emphasized.