The Committee on law enforcement recommends that the Verkhovna Rada reject draft law No. 3316, as well as alternative draft laws No. 3316-2 and No. 3316-3, which declare the intention to counter hate crimes based on sexual orientation and gender identity, as they need to be significantly refined.
Thirteen members of the Committee out of 20 present at the meeting on June 17, 2020, voted for this decision, according to the Institute of Religious Freedom.
Chairman of the Committee Denys Monastyrsky drew attention to the fact that the Committee received hundreds of appeals from absolutely all faiths "who are concerned about the proposed changes to the Criminal Code of Ukraine. He also recalled that before 58 MPs of Ukraine from different parliamentary factions sent a collective parliamentary appeal to the Committee criticizing this legislative initiative and asking to consider the arguments of churches and religious organizations.
The comments of the parent community and churches were voiced by MP Viktor Myalik, who was present at the meeting and co-authored this collective parliamentary appeal to the Committee.
On the eve of the meeting, the AUCCRO also submitted its comments to the Committee regarding these laws, opposing the introduction of gender ideology in the legislation of Ukraine. The AUCCRO drew the attention of the Committee members to the fact that increasing criminal liability for crimes if a person has “biases, prejudices, stereotypical views” may become the basis for restricting the constitutional right of citizens to freedom of thought and expression.
During the discussion, Oleksandr Bakumov, Chairman of the Subcommittee on criminal law and counteraction to crime, the author of draft law No. 3316-3, proposed to reject all draft laws related to this issue, given the "fragility of this topic” and the need to finalize these initiatives to ensure legal certainty of the proposed changes.
Other members of the Committee also commented on draft law No. 3316 and alternative drafts No. 3316-2 and 3316-3. In particular, the Deputy Chairman of the Committee, Hryhoriy Mamka, believes it inadmissible to simultaneously specify the motive of hatred as qualifying features in certain articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, to indicate them additionally as an aggravating circumstance.
The fate of these laws will be determined by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, which can exclude them from the agenda of this or the next session (without consideration) or reject them during the first reading.