Rada allows city halls and village councils to speak language of national minorities, except for russian

The Verkhovna Rada has expanded the rights of national minorities to use their language.

318 parliamentarians voted for bill No. 9610 as a whole, with the minimum required 226, Ukrainian News Agency reports.

According to it, the state creates the necessary conditions for the effective participation of persons belonging to national minorities (communities) in social and economic life, as well as in the management of state affairs.

In particular, at the request of a person belonging to a national minority, the language of the corresponding national minority can be used, if such language is understandable for the parties, for:

• providing emergency medical care;
• providing assistance and protection if such a person has suffered from domestic violence;
• providing care in a nursing home for elderly people.

The state also contributes to the implementation of measures aimed at the development of specialized bookstores formed to implement the rights of national minorities (communities).

According to the adopted law, the following is allowed:

• the use by persons belonging to the national minority, along with the state language, of the language of the corresponding national minority in relations with local executive bodies and local self-government bodies, their officials carrying out their activities in settlements in which people belonging to national minorities traditionally live, or in which such persons make up a significant part of the population;
• the use by local executive authorities and local self-government bodies, their officials who carry out their activities in settlements in which traditionally people belonging to national minorities live, or in which such persons make up a significant part of the population, by decision of such a body, along with the state language, of the language of the corresponding national minority in relations with persons belonging to national minorities.

In settlements in which traditionally people belonging to national minorities live, or in which such persons make up a significant part of the population, at the initiative of public associations of national minorities, village, town, city councils can form the Center for National Minorities, the main tasks of which will be:

1. support and preservation of traditional culture and intangible cultural heritage of national minorities, creation of conditions for comprehensive disclosure of their identity, preservation of language, culture, folk traditions;
2. providing information-advisory and organizational support to public associations of national minorities;
3. holding events aimed at strengthening national unity and consolidation of Ukrainian society, deepening cultural ties between public associations of national minorities of the region;

Norms on the possibility of using the language of national minorities will not concern the russian language five years after the abolition of martial law.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, in December 2022, the Rada adopted a new law on national minorities.

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