Current Global Problems of Ethno-National Policy of Ukraine: on the Example of Legal Regulation of the Status of National Minorities

Annotation. The article is devoted to the analysis of the problems of ethno-national policy in
modern conditions of the development of statehood and points to the prospects of improving the
legislation in the context of ensuring the proper legal status of national minorities.
The article examines the main problems in the field of ethno-national policy of Ukraine and legal
regulation of the status of national minorities. The author emphasizes the absence of a single strategy for
the development of ethno-national relations, which leads to fragmented legislation. The implementation of
a comprehensive normative act could determine the direction of the development of statehood and form
the ideological basis for future normative acts regarding the status of national minorities, indigenous
peoples, and other ethnic groups.
It is also emphasized that the issues of national minorities were often ignored in national law, and
the legislative framework regarding indigenous peoples and the protection of the status of national
minorities was formed mainly as a reaction to external circumstances, such as the occupation of the
Crimean peninsula. Gaps in legislation make it difficult to ensure the rights of national minorities, in
particular, due to the lack of up-to-date statistical data, since the all-Ukrainian population census was
conducted only once in 2001.
The author draws attention to the low level of tolerance in Ukrainian society, which is
demonstrated by a survey conducted in 2022-2024. Respondents often do not consider their actions illegal
or discriminatory towards Roma, but do not wish to have them in their environment. This indicates a lack
of education regarding national characteristics as a factor of discrimination and a lack of attention on the
part of the state to issues of language moderation and protection of the rights of national minorities.
The lack of an effective policy of integration of national minorities is another significant problem.
The legislator often considers national minorities as a group of citizens of a different ethnic origin living in
Ukraine traditionally, which is a wrong approach. In order to improve ethno-national politics, it is
necessary to solve problems in related areas, such as education, political rights, participation in local self-
government and the fight against hate speech.