On 2 December 2025, the first Congress of the Indigenous Peoples of Ukraine took place — an event that marked an important milestone in safeguarding the rights of Indigenous peoples in the context of Russia’s ongoing aggression. The Congress was organised by the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Affairs and Freedom of Conscience, in partnership with the Office of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and civil society organisations representing the Indigenous peoples of Ukraine.
Leaders and delegates of the Crimean Tatar people, as well as representatives of the Karaite and Krymchak communities, gathered to discuss the most pressing challenges their peoples face during the war and to outline strategic priorities for the years ahead. The event also brought together servicemen and servicewomen belonging to Indigenous peoples who are currently defending Ukraine.
The Congress was attended by Hilde Haug, Deputy Head of the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine, who reaffirmed the international community’s support for Ukraine in protecting the rights of Indigenous peoples, emphasizing that the Council of Europe extends the protections of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities to Indigenous peoples, ensuring their rights are safeguarded even without formal recognition as a national minority.
She also welcomed Ukraine’s recent steps to strengthen legislative and policy protections for the Crimean Tatars, including measures aimed at preserving the Crimean Tatar language, which remains in a vulnerable position, and highlighted the importance of the Strategy for the Development of the Crimean Tatar Language as a key policy instrument.
Participants of the Congress stressed that strengthening state policy on Indigenous peoples is not only a matter of justice but also an essential element of Ukraine’s democratic resilience on the path toward victory and post-war recovery.
The event was supported by the Joint European Union and Council of Europe Project “Support for implementing European standards relating to anti-discrimination and rights of national minorities in Ukraine” and the Council of Europe Project “Supporting the reform of the national minority legal framework and the resilience of national minorities and Roma in Ukraine”.
