Donetsk, Feb 28 – DAN. The decision of the Ukrainian Constitutional Court to rule unconstitutional the 2012 language law recognizing Russian as a regional language violates rights of Russian-speaking population and aggravates misunderstandings existing in the Ukrainian society, said DPR acting Foreign Minister Natalia Nikonorova.
"Ceaseless attempts to enforce one language on a multilingual society, with majority speaking Russian, just deepen a decade long social crisis, and further violate the rights of Russian-speaking people," she said.
The decision is at odds with international regulations, Nikonorova said, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (ECRML).
"Ukrainian courts are known for their neglect of law and justice, now it has been confirmed that judges are but a russophobic policy tool. However, the decision affects not only Russian-speaking people, but also linguistic minorities."
The Ukrainian Constitutional Court ruled unconstitutional the 2012 language law, which provided for two official languages in the regions where linguistic minorities constitute over 10 percent of population. In accordance with the law Russian language was used as second official in 13 regions of Ukraine. *ot