The Eastern European Coalition for LGBT+ Equality strongly condemns the registration of the new Civil Code by the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
The draft is set to put at risk the security of the LGBT+ people and will directly undermine Ukraine’s EU accession process.
The draft will forbid any recognition of same-sex unions or cohabitation. Marriage and family will be defined exclusively as a union between a man and a woman. Same-sex marriages concluded abroad will not be recognised, including those involving Ukrainian citizens. If a person undergoes legal gender recognition while married, the marriage will be automatically invalidated. The draft provides no legal mechanisms to formalise common property or secure parental rights for same-sex couples.
These measures are a deliberate rollback that legalises discrimination against LGBT+ people, creates immediate legal insecurity for same-sex couples and trans people, and contradicts Ukraine’s obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights and its EU accession commitments.
