The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has adopted a new bill on national minorities and repealing the old one.

A total of 324 Members of Parliament voted in favor of respective bill No. 8224 on national minorities (communities) [226 votes are required to approve a decision] at a plenary session on Tuesday in Kyiv, MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak, who is a member of the Holos faction, said on the Telegram channel.

The bill defines the concept of "national minorities (communities)", rights, freedoms and obligations of persons belonging to national minorities, features of state policy for the implementation of the rights and freedoms of representatives of national minorities, powers of the central executive agency implementing state policy in the field of protecting the rights and freedoms of persons belonging to national minorities.

Article 5 of the bill titled "Rights, freedoms and obligations of persons belonging to national minorities (communities)" guarantees citizens of Ukraine, regardless of their ethnic origin, belonging or non-membership to national minorities (communities), civil, political, social, economic, cultural and linguistic rights and freedoms defined by the Constitution.

A person belonging to a national minority (community) also has the right to self-identification, freedom of public associations and peaceful assembly, freedom of expression of views and beliefs, thought, speech, conscience and religion; participation in political, economic and social life; use of the language of a national minority; education, including in the languages of national minorities; preservation of the cultural identity of the national community.