Ukraine promises to ban anti-gay discrimination
The Ukrainian foreign minister, Leonid Kozhara, has promised that the country will soon ban all anti-gay discrimination in an interview with a Polish newspaper.
Mr Kozhara told the Gazeta Wyborcza that a bill would be passed soon in order to speed up Ukraine’s entry into the European Union. He commented: “The issue of homosexuals is now generating strong controversy in Ukraine, but our government has already prepared a draft law and will soon submit it to the parliament.
“Without a law that prohibits discrimination against gays, we cannot move on the road to abolition of visas. I think that the will to further integration with the European Union outweighs the resistance, and the law will be passed.”
Ukraine is currently governed by the Party of Regions political party who is strongly pro-Russia. Russia is currently passing laws which restrict the freedoms of LGBT citizens, something that the Ukrainian Parliament also examined.
In a 2007 poll 5.7% of Ukrainians said that “gay lifestyles” were acceptable and only 4.7% of Ukrainians stated that they thought same-sex marriage in the country was a priority.
