A/HRC/56/67
N.
Ukraine
41.
Ukraine provided information about the legal framework in place to provide
protection from discrimination and access to justice for victims of discrimination. Ukraine
reported that article 24 of the national Constitution provided that citizens had equal
constitutional rights and freedoms and were equal before the law and that there could be no
privileges or restrictions based on race, skin colour, political, religious or other beliefs,
gender, ethnic origin, property status, place of residence, language or other characteristics.
The Law on the Principles of Prevention and Combating of Discrimination in Ukraine was
mentioned as providing further protections from discrimination. There was also specific
legislation on preventing and combating antisemitism, according to the information provided.
Ukraine also provided information about legislative efforts to harmonize legislation,
including anti-discrimination legislation, with European Union standards. Legal provisions
to ensure equality and non-discrimination in the justice system, including the Law on the
Judiciary and the Status of Judges and the Law on Free Legal Aid, were also described.
42.
In relation to trends in discrimination, Ukraine reported that the full-scale invasion by
the Russian Federation had challenged the values on which Ukrainian identity was built,
namely, respect for diversity, freedom of conscience and ethnic tolerance. In response to such
challenges, special attention had reportedly been paid to preventing hatred or incitement to
violence against persons belonging to national, ethnic, religious or linguistic minority groups,
including in the political or public discourse. According to the information provided, all
sections of the population, regardless of ethnic and religious orientation, have been
interacting harmoniously to defend their country.
43.
Ukraine reported on initiatives that had been undertaken to uphold equality and
non-discrimination, including engagement with the European Commission for Democracy
through Law on the protection of the rights of persons belonging to national minority groups,
participation in a range of regional and national forums on minority rights and discrimination,
the Unity in Diversity national cultural programme, nationwide information campaigns to
prevent hate speech, meetings, round tables and conferences with representatives of various
ethnic groups and religious denominations to promote dialogue and measures to guarantee
freedom of conscience.
O.
Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
44.
The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela reported on manifestations of racial
discrimination experienced by vulnerable populations, including Afrodescendant people,
Indigenous Peoples, the LGBTIQ+ populations and persons with disabilities. Those
manifestations were particularly prevalent on social media and other online platforms. There
were reportedly no known neo-Nazi groups in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, but
there were private and political organizations with links to such organizations.
45.
There were a number of laws in place to provide protection from racial discrimination.
For example, the Organic Law Against Racial Discrimination enacted a range of measures to
respond to all manifestations of ethnic-racial hatred, xenophobia and other related forms of
intolerance. In 2017, the Constitutional Law against Hate, Peaceful Coexistence and
Tolerance had been proposed to promote and guarantee the recognition of diversity, tolerance
and mutual respect.
46.
In addition to legal measures to address racial discrimination, there were a number of
relevant policies and programmes in place in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. The
programmatic agenda for people of African descent, 2019–2025, which was based on the
principles of the International Decade for People of African Descent, was composed of more
than 300 policies designed to prevent and combat all forms of racial discrimination. The
Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela also reportedly prioritized the collection of disaggregated
data and had recently re-established the Subcommittee on Statistics on the Afrodescendant
population.
GE.24-08848
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