WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Amnesty International and the Nash Mir group had documented dozens of other cases of violent attacks against LGBTI persons in Ukraine.
“[W]e urge you to ensure that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) people are protected,” the letter sent on Wednesday by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Freedom House read.
The letter was signed by Amnesty International Regional Deputy Program Director for Europe and Central Asia, Denis Krivosheev, Freedom House Vice President for Regional Programs Robert Herman and Human Rights Watch Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights Program Advocacy Director Boris Dittrich.
“LGBTI people in Ukraine endure regular discrimination and violence for which there is rarely accountability.”
The human rights organizations cited the violent attacks during the Kiev Equality March in June 2015, when nearly two dozen police officers and participants were injured by protesters.
“This attack was clearly targeted at LGBTI people and those who support and promote their constitutional rights.”
The human rights organizations urged Poroshenko to “push for a comprehensive anti-discrimination provision in the new Constitution (Article 42) that specifically includes sexual orientation and gender identity as protected characteristics, and enshrines the full equality of LGBTI people before the law in Ukraine.”
They also said the Ukrainian government had a “compelling positive obligation” to protect the country’s LGBTI community from discrimination and violence, as established by the European Convention on Human Rights and numerous other international human rights treaties.
