STRASBOURG (AFP)---Racially motivated attacks continue to take place in Ukraine while police and courts do little to intervene, the Council of Europe said in a critical report made public Tuesday in Strasbourg.
The report also expressed concern about attacks against rabbis and Jewish
students, as well as the vandalism of synagogues, cemeteries and cultural
centres.
Discrimination against the Roma community, continuing anti-Semitism,
violence in Crimea and other acts of intolerance against various ethnic groups
in Ukraine were singled out in the report by the Council of Europe's
racism-monitoring body, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance
(ECRI).
"However, criminal legislation against racially-motivated crimes has not
been strengthened and the authorities have not yet adopted a comprehensive
body of civil and administrative anti-discrimination laws," the body said.
"There have been very few prosecutions against people who make anti-Semitic
statements or publish anti-Semitic literature."
According to ECRI, the Roma face discrimination in matters of education,
employment and housing.
High infections and cardiovascular diseases, along with malnutrition, are
other problems, with only half of Romas having the means to eat daily, added
ECRI, which also revealed a rise in the rate of infectious and cardiovascular
diseases among its members.
One ray of hope in the current situation, according to ECRI, is that
several Roma are pursuing studies in journalism -- an evolution it said
reinforced diversity in the profession.
Tensions between Crimean Tartars and ethnic Russians in Ukraine -- mainly
based on disagreements about land and historic monuments -- were another
source of concern, the report said.
Skinhead violence against Tartars and Jews is also frequent and police have
offered little protection to the different communities, it said.
And ECRI asked Ukrainian authorities to step up efforts to fight violence
by skinheads against Africans, Asians, and people from the Caucasus and the
Middle East.
Composed of independent members, ECRI periodically analyses racism and
intolerance in the 47 member States of the Council of Europe.