Today, on April 10, 2024, the Verkhovna Rada approved the draft Law on Ratification of Free Trade Agreement between Ukraine and Canada, which was signed on September 22, 2023, in Ottawa by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau.

The Mission of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea was involved in the development of the Free Trade Agreement and provided proposals, as the document was supplemented with a new Chapter 25: Trade and Indigenous Peoples. The purpose of the Chapter is to protect and promote the special trade interests and indigenous peoples of Ukraine and Canada.

It is especially important under the circumstances of the temporary occupation of Crimea, which is the territory inhabited by the indigenous peoples of Ukraine.

The updated Free Trade Agreement includes the establishment of a bilateral committee for promoting cooperation to eliminate barriers and challenges affecting indigenous peoples. The Chapter also includes an obligation to apply rather than weaken national laws and protections for indigenous peoples’ rights to attract trade and investment. The Chapter also encourages responsible business behavior.

In addition, the parties reaffirmed that indigenous peoples are entitled to all human rights and fundamental freedoms, including those recognized under the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.