On third try, Ukraine passes law against anti-LGBTI bias

Colin Stewart is a 45-year journalism veteran living in Southern…

Dozens of demonstrators supporting a ban on anti-LGBTI bias protested outside the Ukrainian parliament on Nov. 12 before the ban was approved. (Photo by Kostyantyn Chernichkin courtesy of Kyiv Post)

Ukraine finally passes anti-bias law, a prerequisite for visa-free travel to EU

In its third attempt, Ukraine’s parliament passed amendments to the Labor Code on Nov. 12 that will end lingering Soviet-era workplace discrimination over sexual orientation, political and religious beliefs.

The law, which received the support of 234 lawmakers, was the most controversial bill in parliament among a package of anti-corruption and other legislation the European Union requires in its visa liberalization action plan.

The voting process has been excruciating, however, requiring six rounds of voting and frantic consultations before it finally passed. …

After [a] break, lawmakers returned to the vote, and managed to pass the bill at the first attempt.

The extra votes needed were provided by the president’s faction, 108 of whom eventually voted for the bill, compared to 99 before the break, and by the prime minister’s faction, where 65 voted in favor as opposed to 62 before the break.

Parliament twice failed to pass the amendments in earlier voting: On Nov. 5 a similar measure garnered only 117 votes, while on Nov. 10 the draft bill gained 207 votes – still far short of the 226 votes that are needed for a bill to pass in the 423-seat parliament.

For more information, read the full article in the Kyiv Post ”Ukraine finally passes anti-bias law, a prerequisite for visa-free travel to EU.”