Fridae

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has approved a new human rights strategy for Ukraine that expressly includes LGBTQI+ rights. His decree, dated 12 October, gives the Cabinet six months to approve an implementation plan covering 2027–2029.

Operational goal 14 sets out gaps in protection against discrimination. It calls for clearer legal safeguards relating to sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics. Investigations, training for police and judges, and access to legal aid are also part of the work proposed.

The Cabinet’s plan will have to specify the measures, who is responsible for carrying them out, their deadlines and the indicators used to measure progress. The strategy sets the direction; its proposed changes to legislation still need further lawmaking.

This replaces the strategy approved in 2021. Equality and preventing discrimination were priorities in that earlier document too, according to the presidency’s announcement at the time.

The Justice Ministry has a recurring task under the new strategy: prepare an implementation report each year by 1 April and publish it on its website.