Volodymyr YAKOVENKO «Ukraine’s accession to the EU also depends upon the attitude towards Roma

Advocacy

Volodymyr Yakovenko, the Executive Director of ARKA Youth Agency for Roma Culture Advocacy, in his interview with Oleksandr Podobrii, a journalist, reminded that adopting and implementing framework legislation on minority rights is one of the prerequisites of Ukraine’s accession to the EU. 

«The European Union is quite serious about supporting ethnic minorities. One of such minority in their focus is the Romanis who are one of the most vulnerable communities and one experiencing difficulties with assimilation (…) That is why, the efforts that are being taken in order for Ukraine to accede to the EU also depends upon our country’s attitude to Romanis», — Mr Yakovenko notes.

You can listen to the first part of this podcast by clicking HERE.

He has noted that Ukraine already has experience in drafting corresponding legislation in the past. Case in point: within the framework of requirements for visa free regime with the EU, a Romani Strategy was adopted back in 2013 (A 2020 Strategy for Protection and Integration of Romani Ethnic Minority into Ukrainian Society — ed.). «Its actual implementation is another thing. In our country, some documents are construed as sheer formality and are, in fact, ignored», — Yakovenko said.

Mr Yakovenko has also stressed that, in order to overcome the stereotypic attitude towards the Romani community, Ukraine should pursue an appropriate national policy:

«When an infant is born, it has no stereotypes. It does not think that this person is bad and that one is good. Children perceive all people as good ones. It is the information that is being input into them within the family, at the kindergarten, from the mass media—the information they absorb and then adopt as adults. This is not exclusive to Romanis; this is related to everything. If we want our country to be tidy, we need to teach our kids to throw rubbish into the bin, not toss it onto the footwalk. If we want the elderly to be treated with respect, we need to teach children to do so since their early years. If we want the Romani community (or any other ethnic or religious communities) to be treated normally, we also need to teach our children accordingly... The state should understand what kind of a citizen does it want to see in the future».

You can listen to the full version of this podcast by opening the audio file attached.