Valery Sushkevych, Head of the Ukrainian National Assembly of People with Disabilities is not optimistic about immediate prospects for Ukraine’s ratification of the Convention, and points to problems with legislation in Ukraine consistently not being applied

MAUP’s latest court flop came on the eve of Victory Day. The institute had filed a suit demanding that members of the Ukrainian intelligentsia retract their statement that fringe elements linked with MAUP were trying to present to the world an image, long debunked, of Ukraine as a hotbed of xenophobia. A Kyiv court found no grounds for allowing the claim.

After presenting the results of six months monitoring of the press with regard to their coverage of the difficulties experienced by people with special needs, problems of mobility, treatment by the authorities and the attitude of members of the public to people with disabilities were discussed

In Simferopol on Saturday more than 300 adults and children with disabilities took part in a march – demonstration under the banner “See me as equal!”. The event was aimed at drawing the public’s attention to the problems people with disabilities face and to develop a positive attitude to those with limited possibilities

Despite advances in technology, with special programs available in other countries, Ukraine continues to have material for people with impaired vision using obsolete technology

“All different – all equal” – this is the credo of the “Coalition to defend the rights of the disabled and people with learning difficulties”. Unfortunately this credo is seldom reflected in Ukrainian legislation, and many children with disabilities and their parents are left to deal with their problems alone

The Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group has received complaints from foreign students in Kharkiv saying that in the last 6 months there has been a significant increase in aggression towards them. The students are unfortunately often frightened to approach the police

While a lawyer from All-Ukrainian Jewish Congress believes that everyday anti-Semitism is not a problem, she believes it would be too early to rest easy, especially given the difficulties the Congress has in proving the xenophobic nature of one academy’s regular publications

The site’s creators hope to inform visitors about the everyday life of people with special needs and the problems they encounter

A recent seminar in Chernivtsi addressed ways of protecting the rights of those with disabilities in Chernivtsi and the region

News also of a new initiative on fighting corruption

Dickens’ "Bleak House" in a modern Ukrainian setting: it would be humourous if the winter didn’t get bitterly cold without heating!

As so often, a cheering account of what civic organizations are doing to help people with disabilities, and depressing details of how the authorities are failing such people

Faltering steps in Ukraine towards recognizing and meeting the needs of all members of sociiety

The donations will help to develop barrier free buildings for children with limited mobility

Customer price inflation in 2005 will not exceed 11%.

The events around the all-Ukrainian medical-social Center in the village of Tsybli of the Kyiv region may result in its liquidation

During the past ten years the state of mental health of Ukrainian citizens has noticeably deteriorated – this negative trend has been reported by Ukrainian psychiatrists

The right to employment, as well as other labour rights, is an inherent right like the right to life. The reality of our social-economic rights depends on the reality of this right. Changes in political, economic and social conditions have resulted in radical changes in our country, and violations of elementary rights connected with labour relations have become common.

The building crane near the building “Arsenal-2” with its board promising that this will be the Ukrainian Louvre, the endless talk over what to build on the foundation of the Desyatynna Church , the suspension of the building works on No. 9 Parkova Avenue hardly testify to revolutionary changes in Kyiv.