Ukrainian New Law Discriminates Against Speakers of Armenian and Other Non-EU Languages

The law adopted by the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada regarding national minorities is discriminatory towards those who speak languages not recognized as official in EU countries, particularly Russian, Armenian, and Romani.

This conclusion was drawn in a report published in Geneva by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. The UN reminded that on December 8, 2023, the Verkhovna Rada passed a legislative act amending the list of laws related to the rights of national minorities.

The document "enhanced the linguistic rights of minorities using EU languages in both secondary and higher education, as well as in advertising and electoral campaigns" and in several other areas. At the same time, it "maintains discriminatory treatment towards national minorities speaking non-EU official languages, such as Russian, Armenian, or Romani,"