The Permanent Representative of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea Tamila Tasheva, the representatives of the State Service for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience, the Member of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues of the United Nations Suleiman Mamutov convened the meeting with the representatives of Crimean Karaites and Krymchaks, the indigenous peoples of Ukraine.

At the onset of the meeting The Permanent Representative Tamila Tasheva spoke to the audience. 

“In 2021, the Law on Indigenous Peoples of Ukraine came into force, and it is designed to protect the rights of indigenous peoples in Ukraine. The law incorporates numerous improvements, but not all of them have been implemented, primarily due to the objective reality of the occupation of Crimea. Consequently, the Ukrainian state faces challenges in maintaining consistent communication and engagement with representatives of indigenous peoples residing in the occupied Crimea. 


The adoption of the law consolidated the status of Crimean Tatars, Crimean Karaites, and Krymchaks at the legal level. Therefore, the law consolidation became the next step towards deoccupation and reintegration of the temporarily occupied Crimean peninsula. Despite our temporal disability of influencing the situation on the Crimean peninsula, we can take steps to further implementation of the law. We can already build communication between the indigenous peoples of Ukraine and the government, and be effective in our spheres of influence.
 
Our purpose is to create the executive group that will develop the plan of action for incorporating the Law on Indigenous Peoples of Ukraine. The plan will be consolidated by the government of Ukraine,”

— the Permanent Representative emphasized and offered the representatives of the indigenous peoples to make proposals and requests for governmental institutions. Tamila Tasheva also encouraged the representatives to voice their opinions on legislative processes in collaboration with the government. 

Following the next speaker was the Deputy Head of the State Service for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience Ihor Lissovskiy. He expressed his gratitude to The Mission of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea for its engagement in solving the issues connected with the rights of Crimean Karaites and Krymchaks. Also, he thanked the representatives of the indigenous peoples for opposition to the Russian military aggression and focused on the fact that the State Service for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience is a member of the National Commission on the Crimean Tatar Language. He added that currently, significant effort has been invested in revitalizing and advancing indigenous languages, encompassing the development of written forms and the extensive publication of books in these languages.

The Head of the Karaite Religious Community of Crimean Karaites of Kyiv, the President of the Kyiv National Cultural Centre of Crimean Karaites Dohunma, and the Member of the Indigenous Advisory Council of the State Service for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience Oleksandr Arabadzhi emphasized the importance of the literary inheritance. He also raised the problem of the inability of Karaites to hold prayer services in kenassas (Karaite churches): many kenassas premises are currently in the state ownership, and Karaites are not able to freely visit them. Mr. Arabaji asked the Mission to assist in resolving the issue with the Kyiv Karaite Kenasa so that the local community could gather there.

“In 1902 Karaites built the Karaite kenassa at their own expense. Nowadays, the building belongs to Kyiv municipal property, the city’s Actor’s House is located there. The administration reluctantly gives Karaites the possibility to attend the kenassa for meetings. The Karaite community desires to use the building freely and seamlessly for worship and assembly,”

— Oleksandr Arabadzhi mentioned. 

His request was supported by the Head of the Association of Karaites of Ukraine Olena Arabadzhi and the Project Coordinator of the Association of Karaites of Ukraine Svitlana Saitova-Barash. The speakers drew attention to the necessity of restitution of the significant buildings seized from the indigenous peoples, particularly when those buildings aren’t utilized or remain abandoned. Ms. Arabadzhi also suggested the engagement of Crimean Karaites and Krymchaks in discussions on the Strategy of Deoccupation and Reintegration of the Crimean peninsula. 

Suleiman Mamutov as a member of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues spoke about the indigenous peoples of Ukraine in the international context, detailing the activities of The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, and the UN structures’ support for the rights of indigenous peoples in the world. He noted that the Permanent Forum thoroughly analyzes general and local problems of indigenous peoples and draws up conclusions and decisions based on the results of these annual sessions that help solve the problems of a particular group of indigenous peoples.

The co-founder of the Kyiv National Cultural Centre of Crimean Karaites Dohunma Viacheslav Khazanov, a Member of the Association of Karaites of Ukraine and a Member of Indigenous Advisory Council of the State Service for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience Yelyzaveta Lytvynchuk also joined the discussion. The Vice President of Research and Support of Indigenous Peoples of Crimea Foundation and a Member of the Indigenous Advisory Council of the State Service for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience, Viacheslav Lombrozo launched the meeting online.

Ukraine is actively taking measures to uphold the rights of indigenous peoples in Ukraine. This specific meeting serves as a crucial step in this endeavor. The Mission is committed to facilitating positive outcomes from this dialogue, benefiting all involved parties and bolstering the Ukrainian indigenous people’s community.