The round table, organized at the initiative of the Mission of the President of Ukraine in the AR of Crimea and Kherson regional state administration brought together the regional leadership, representatives of public authorities, civic organizations, indigenous participants and national minorities.

“This day is an extremely important for us as the Ukrainians of all ethnic groups because we are all family. And now, when a part of Ukraine is temporarily occupied, building a dialogue, exchanging vies are very important for us to strengthen our country”, the head of Kherson regional state administration Yuriy Gusev , in opening the meeting, highlighted the importance of such event.

However, the Ukrainian legislation lacks the Law “On the Indigenous Peoples” and the Permanent Representative of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea Anton Korynevych focused on the importance of resolving this issue at the highest legislative level. “We are all working to return Crimea under the control of Ukraine. Moreover, the protection of the indigenous peoples’ rights is an urgent issue on the agenda of Kherson region”, he said.

The interlocutors pointed out the need to adopt the Law “On indigenous peoples of Ukraine”, the importance of exercising the rights of the indigenous peoples as well as providing support to the indigenous representatives and national minorities in the region, particularly under the temporarily occupation of the Crimean peninsula.