1. Case-study No. & Title:
No. 226. Program for the realisation of Rumanian minority' rights including: a) political participation; b) local self-government; c) cultural and educational rights, Chernowitz and Transcarpathia regions, Ukraine

Keywords

w	Social development
w	Institution building
w	Education
w	Participation
w	Communication
w	Info dissemination
w	Co-operation

2. Author information:
2.1 Author’s Name
Anatoly Shevchenko

2.2 Institutional Affiliation and Contact Details
Administration of the President of Ukraine
11, Bankova St.
Kiev, 01220
Ukraine

Tel.: 291-6495
E-mail: intersl@adm.gov.ua

2.3 Date recorded
21/01/2001

3. Good Practice Information Sheet
3.1 Local Level Good Practice:
The state provided the conditions for the realisation of a number of rights for the Rumanian minority in the two regions. These have included

w	Legal rights to learn and study in the mother tongue (exchange and cooperation programs have been agreed with educational institution of Romania and Moldova);
w	The provision of Romanian-language schools with textbooks and training material (produced by Ukrainian publishing houses);
w	Satisfying the requirements of the Romanian minority for mass media to be provided in their mother tongue (some publications, TV and radio programs are functioning in the region).

The Romanian minority takes an active part in local government processes.

3.2 Location:
The Chernowitz and Transcarpathia regions of the Ukraine.

3.3 Minority/Target Groups:
Minority - Romanians.
Target group - Romanian population of the Chernowitz and Transcarpathia regions.

3.4 Major Actors Involved

w	Local Government
w	Media
w	Political party
w	Educational institution
w	Minority organisations
w	Local leaders

3.5 Budget allocated by local government authorities and/or by other actors
According to the national law "On ethnic minorities" (1992) the State budget provides funding for ethnic minorities' development on an annual basis. This money has been spent, for instance, on funding Romanian-language teachers' training. The teachers’ training program for the Romanian schools is conducted in Chernowitz State University where there is also a department of Romanian and classic philology, and in the teacher training college attached to the university. In 1999/2000 year there were 97 state schools with Romanian-language education (more than 25,000 pupils) and 28 kindergartens with 1008 children. The State provides 682 grivnas (about $5) a year for each pupil and 310 grivnas (about $2.5) a year for each child at the kindergarten level.

3.6 Timeframe
1992 – The national law "On ethnic minorities" was adopted by Ukrainian Parliament.
1997 - The basic treaty on good neighbour relations and co-operation between the Ukraine and Romania was signed.
1999 – The problem of ethnic and cultural development of Ukrainian Romanians was discussed during the negotiations in Bucharest. An intergovernmental decision was made concerning secondary education for ethnic Romanians.
The process of improving Romanian ethnic minority' status is ongoing.

3.7 Local level good practice relation to national level ethnic policy
National legislation concerning ethnic issues comprises the Constitution of Ukraine (1996), laws "On Ethnic Minorities", "On Citizenship", "On Languages", "On Education", "On Information", "On Culture" etc. the Ukraine has signed international conventions such as Convention on the Rights of People Belonging to Ethnic Minorities". These acts guarantee equal rights to all citizens regardless of ethnic origin, the right of education in the mother tongue or the opportunity to study the mother tongue, the right to practice and develop the ethnic culture etc.

4. Good Practice Description
Romanians are, by size, the 8^th ethnic minority of Ukraine (134,800 or 0.3% of the total population of the republic according to 1989 census). 100,300 of them (74.4%) live in the Chernowitz region, 29,500 (21.9%) in the Transcarpathia region. The main areas densely populated by Romanians are: the Gertzayevski, Glybokski and Storozhinetzki districts of the Chernowitz region, where they account for, respectively, 94.0%, 42.7% and 36.7% of the local populations.

Typically Rumanian communities are settled in rural areas (74.0%). Only 62% of Romanians declared Romanian to be their mother tongue during the last 1989 census, 9.8% instead indicated Ukrainian and 3.5% - Russian.

The Romanian minority is fairly represented in local governmental and legislative bodies. In Chernovitz regional council 18% of deputies are Romanians, in the Gertzayevski district council – 96%, in Novoselitzki district council – 63.3%, in the Glybokski district council – 50%, in the Storozhinetzki district council – 30%. Romanians also head the local administration in Transcarpathia.

One of the leaders of the Romanian national movement in the region, I. Popescu, was elected from the Novoselitski election district for the 2^nd term to the Supreme Rada of the Ukraine. The president of the Social-Democratic Alliance of Ukraine’s Romanians, C. Olaru, is a member of the representatives’ council of all-Ukraine public unions of minorities – a deliberative body attached to the "State Committee for Nationalities and Migration’ of Ukraine.

The state has provided substantial support for the realisation of the rights to study the native language and receive education through it. Currently there are 97 state schools with Romanian-language education (more than 25,000 pupils) including 86 schools in the Chernowitz region (22,000 pupils), 5 Ukraine-Romanian and 2 Ukrainian-Russian-Romanian schools with about 2,500 pupils. Some new kinds of the educational institutions are in the process of being set up: a classic school was opened in the Novoselitski district and 2 Romanian Lyceums in the Glybokski – (all in the Chernowitz region).

A program to train teachers for the Romanian schools is available in Chernowitz State University where there is also a department of Romanian and classic philology.

According to an agreement with the ministries of education of Moldavia and Romania, pupils attending Romanian-language schools in Ukraine have the opportunity to study in the secondary schools of those countries and teachers, while professors and educators of pre-schooling institutions in the Ukraine can improve their professional skills and raise their qualification by also attending courses in Romania and Moldova.

There is also a diversified network of cultural institutions helping to preserve and develop the Romanian minority’s culture and traditions. In various Romanian settlements of the Chernowitz region, there are 76 houses of culture with their various branches and 3 children’s schools of arts. The houses of culture include more than 500 amateur circles.

To satisfy the needs of the Romanian minority’ wish for mass media in their mother tongue, a number of Romanian-language publications are published, and TV and radio programs are broadcast in the region. There are newspapers in Romanian – Concordia (a supplement to the paper of the state parliament – Voice of the Ukraine), Sorile Bucovinei – the paper of the Chernowitz local council, four papers published by the district councils of the Chernowitz region, some free publications and a magazine for children – Fegurel. In the same region programs in Romanian take up more than 30% of TV air time and 25% of that of the Radio.

A number of Romanian associations (see list below) are playing an important role in terms of the national cultural life of the Romanian minority, as well as in the process of realising the minority rights established in the Ukrainian constitution and in subsequent laws.

w	the Christian-democratic union of the Ukraine’s Romanians
w	Eminescu Romanian cultural society
w	All-Ukrainian scientific-pedagogic association «Aron Pumpul»
w	the union of the Stalinist repression’s’ victims «Golgofa»
w	G. Cojbuc social and cultural society of Romanians of the Transcarpathia
w	regional Chernowitz’s medical society «Isidor Vodea»
w	cultural and sports club «Drago-Vode»
w	ecological society «Stejarul»

Ukrainian legislation supports the process of restoring the traditional settlements’ names in the areas densely populated by Romanians. In the Chernowitz region the old names were restored to 4 settlements, and in Chernowitz city, three streets were renamed in honour of famous Romanians.

The Romanian minority maintains close contacts with its ethnic homeland, the right to do that is guaranteed by the Ukrainian legislation and by the basic treaty on good neighbour relations and co-operation between the Ukraine and Romania (1997). The mentioned rights make provision for an easy frontier crossing, the formation of conditions for an active co-operation between the organisations of Romanians of the Ukraine and Romanian state institutions and social institutions.

Romanian community receives continuing support from the Romanian authorities. The Chernowitz and Transcarpathia regions are often visited by delegations headed by representatives of legislative and executive Romanian powers, the Ukrainian organisations of Romanians receive help in the form of fiction and textbooks, computers, copying and other equipment, national costumes for amateur organisations etc.

The issue of the social development of the Romanian minority requires attention from the state. Despite being one of the 5 biggest minorities in the Chernowitz region, Romanians occupy the last position in terms of the number of persons with higher education and engaged mainly in professional work.

Another problem is that some Romanian societies do not have their own premises and also they have to pay a lot for power consumption, which in turn gives rise to difficulties in terms of maintenance of the existing premises. The high rents charged for the use of premises often makes it impossible to organise cultural activities.

Romanians also want their representation in the structures of the legislative and executive powers guaranteed. Some unions demand autonomy for the Romanian minority and the right of self-government in the spheres of culture, education, religion, information, social problems etc. This demand in premised on receipt of grants commensurate with the cultural autonomy’s level and with taxation at the level of the territorial autonomy – to goal being to secure the necessary finance for the normal functioning of such an autonomy.

The Romanian minority of the Ukraine makes active efforts to secure its rights and liberties and uses all legal means available to further its goals. That is why this minority is more successful in satisfying its national and cultural requirements and in preserving its unique characteristics than many other, more numerous, minorities.