Sergey Lavrov
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke about the violation of the rights of the Russian-speaking population in the Baltics and Ukraine. He is quoted by RIA Novosti.
He stressed that Russia is particularly concerned about violations in the exercise of linguistic and educational rights. “We regret that the UN Human Rights Council and its special procedures pass over in silence the flagrant violations of the rights of millions of people,” Lavrov concluded in his speech at the 46th session of the UN Human Rights Council.
The minister recalled that in September 2020, the process of “squeezing out the languages of national minorities” from the public and educational spheres began in Ukraine. The Minister found it unacceptable to repressions against national minorities, which are accompanied by the protection of the state language.
On July 16, 2019, the law “On ensuring the functioning of the Ukrainian language as the state language”, developed by the government of the fifth president of the country, Petro Poroshenko, entered into force in Ukraine. According to the document, the Ukrainian language has become compulsory for state and local authorities, educational institutions, hospitals and the service sector.
