PROTECTION OF THE RIGHTS OF NATIONAL MINORITIES IN UKRAINE IN THE CONTEXT OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY

The article is devoted to the study of issues related to the protection of the rights of national minorities in Ukraine. The author analyzes normative legal acts regulating the status of national minorities, in particular the Constitution of Ukraine, the Declaration of the Rights of Nationalities of Ukraine, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the Framework Convention of the Council of Europe Member States on the Protection of National Minorities, the European The Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the Law of Ukraine «On National Minorities (Communities) of Ukraine». The article also examines the question of restoring the «nationality» column in documents on the state registration of citizens of Ukraine, which has been debated for many years. The author notes that nationality is an important element of a person's identity. However, in Ukraine, the authorities decided not to include a nationality column in citizens' documents in order to prevent discrimination and stereotypes based on nationality. This decision is based on the constitutional principles of equality, non-discrimination and protection of private life of citizens. However, there are arguments for returning the nationality column to citizens' documents, such as preserving cultural identity and prosecuting perpetrators of crimes based on race or nationality. The author explores various aspects of this issue. The study lists specific problems faced by national minorities in Ukraine, as well as ways to solve these problems through financial support for cultural projects, access to language resources, and support for language education. The author draws attention to the importance of ensuring equal rights and opportunities for all citizens of the country, regardless of their ethnic origin.