Ukraine: Information on the activities of an anti-Semitic group called "Makhnovtsy" and on state protection available against this group
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 November 1995 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | UKR22213.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ukraine: Information on the activities of an anti-Semitic group called "Makhnovtsy" and on state protection available against this group, 1 November 1995, UKR22213.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ac0f74.html [accessed 17 September 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Information on the above-mentioned organization could not be found among the sources consulted by the DIRB.
However, on the legal recourses available to the Jewish community in Ukraine, a representative of the Union Council of Soviet Jews (UCSJ) in Chicago told the DIRB during a 7 November 1995 telephone interview that the situation of the Jewish community in Ukraine has improved since independence and that there are provisions in the Constitution and Ukrainian legislation to protect the rights of minorities; nonetheless, members of the Jewish community continue to face many obstacles in following through complaints of anti-semitism. First, the people who implemented state anti-semitism in Ukraine during the Soviet regime are still in office and are resisting measures to curb anti-semitism in Ukraine. Second, complaints of anti-semitism at the local level are often downplayed by the local militia as mere acts of hooliganism (ibid.).
For further information on the protection of human rights in Ukraine, please consult the attached letter faxed to the DIRB on 15 September 1994 by the International Service Group of Citizenship and Immigration Canada. In addition, for information on the situation of the Jewish community in Ukraine, please consult Country Reports 1994, available at your Regional Documentation Centre, as well as the attached documents.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
Attachments
The Atlanta Journal and Constitution. 20 March 1994. Marcia Kunstel and Joseph Albright. "The Holocaust; Many Say Extremists of '90s Feeding New Fires of Hatred." (NEXIS)
Citizenship and Immigration Canada, International Service Group (ISG). 15 September 1994. Letter including memorandum dated 21 August 1994 from the Canadian mission in Kiev.
International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF). 1995. Annual Report 1995. Vienna: International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights, pp. 181-85.
International Herald Tribune [Paris]. 31 March 1995. James Rupert. "Ukraine Jewish Revival; Once-shattered Culture and Religion Thrive; A Faith Reborn/Community Re-emerges from Pogroms and Holocaust." (NEXIS)
The Prague Post. 19 April 1995. Daniel Crimmins. "Ukraine Challenges American TV's 60 Minutes." (NEXIS)
The Ukrainian Weekly [Jersey City, NJ]. 19 February 1995. Roman Woronowycz. "Detroit Petition Against CBS May Get Hearing Before FCC." (The Ethnic Newswatch 19 Feb. 1995/NEXIS)
_____. 1 January 1995. "National Minorities in Ukraine; an Emerging Success Story." (The Ethnic Newswatch 1 Jan. 1995/NEXIS)
Other Sources Consulted
Amnesty International Bulletins and News Releases.
Amnesty International. Yearly. Amnesty International Report. New York: Amnesty International.
Convention Refugee Determination Division (CRDD), Immigration and Refugee Board. March 1994. Information Package: Jews in Ukraine.
DIRB's subject files.
Documents from the Ukrainian-American Bureau for the Protection of Human Rights in 1994.
Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Reports. Daily.
Human Rights Watch. Yearly. Human Rights Watch World Report. New York: Human Rights Watch.
Human Rights Watch reports and publications.
Material from the Indexed Media Review (IMR) or country files containing articles and reports from diverse sources (primarily dailies and periodicals) from the Weekly Media Review.
Oral Sources.