Stefanchuk met with LGBTQ organisations to discuss the Civil Code
Stefanchuk announced this on social media.
He described the conversation as “frank and constructive”.
“It is important for us to maintain an open and responsible dialogue on issues concerning the individual, their dignity, private life and equal rights. All proposals must be carefully considered, taking into account the Constitution of Ukraine, the practice of the European Court of Human Rights, European standards and the necessary social balance,” Stefanchuk noted.
The civil society organisation “Tochka Opori UA”, whose representatives took part in the meeting, outlined the following key positions regarding necessary amendments to the draft:
- the reinstatement of the definition of family currently contained in the Family Code of Ukraine, without establishing an exhaustive list of family members;
- the removal of the provision defining de facto family relationships as a union exclusively between a man and a woman;
- the integration of SOGI (sexual orientation and gender identity) criteria into the Code;
- the removal of the provision regarding the annulment of a marriage in the event of a change of gender by one of the spouses;
- recognition, through the mechanisms of private international law, of partnerships and marriages registered/concluded abroad between persons of the same sex, including Ukrainian citizens;
- the inclusion of the institution of registered partnership in the draft Civil Code.
“Support for two key demands of LGBTIQ citizens has been confirmed in advance: the restoration of the current definition of family and the removal of the provision regarding a de facto family union as the cohabitation of a man and a woman as a family without marriage registration. According to the speaker, the relevant amendments have already been submitted by him personally; it is expected that they will be supported during the preparation of the draft law for the second reading,” the organisation noted.
Regarding other issues, Stefanchuk stated that he sees the possibility of holding further consultations with MPs.
“It is expected that the dialogue between organisations representing the LGBTIQ+ community and the initiators of the recodification of the Civil Code will continue. We will continue to provide updates on the progress and outcomes of this dialogue. At the same time, our position remains unchanged: without taking into account all the aforementioned requirements, the draft Civil Code has little chance of gaining public support from LGBTIQ+ citizens and LGBTIQ± human rights organisations,” the statement reads.
As a reminder, it was previously reported that over 15,000 amendments have been submitted to the draft Civil Code.
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