A/HRC/44/53/Add.1 biased and the notion of gender equality should be strictly interpreted as per the law of Ukraine on ensuring equal rights and opportunities for men and women. 11. The Independent Expert was informed that churches actively promote discriminatory bills and block policies and legislation aimed at protecting persons from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations, for instance, successfully opposed attempts to include sexual orientation and gender identity as protected characteristics in the anti-discrimination legislation; to ratify the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence; and to adopt a resolution cancelling the legislative ban on the adoption of children by HIV-positive and transgender persons. 12. Of particular importance, the Independent Expert was informed of a concerted campaign aimed at influencing all branches of Government to discriminate against lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and gender diverse persons. Since 2018, national and local authorities, the parliament and the Ombudsperson have been the target of thousands of petitions received through their websites and supported – and sometimes initiated – by religious authorities, all demanding a ban on “homosexual propaganda” under the banner of “protecting the traditional family”. In one such petition, “on the protection of traditional family values and concept of family”,8 the Government was called on to take action to protect traditional family values, prohibit propaganda and the promotion of “deviant sexual behaviours” and “anti-family ideas”, “particularly in the form of so-called equality marches, pride marches, gay parades, queer culture festivals, and relevant materials in the media”. By the time of its removal from the President’s website at the request of the Ombudsperson, the initiative had received 22,837 of the 25,000 signatures required for its consideration. 13. Other petitions, however, were not withdrawn from official websites and received enough votes to be considered. Answers varied between authorities, but especially between national and local entities. The Independent Expert is particularly concerned about the reaction of some local councils which, after having reviewed petitions, adopted homophobic appeals to the Government themselves. In 2018, the Ombudsperson sent letters to several city councils requesting that they annul a decision that violated legal requirements guaranteeing the right to respect for dignity and freedom from discrimination. 9 On 24 December 2019, in an almost unanimous decision, Rivne City Council banned the holding of equality marches. 14. Even though the campaign has not led to the adoption of homophobic or transphobic laws, it has had the desired effect of halting the consideration of laws and policies enhancing protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, foreseen in the National Human Rights Strategy, and has created a significant risk of backlash. B. Institutional and policy framework 15. The issue of gender equality was entrusted in March 2017 to the Vice-Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration and, in June 2017, the Cabinet of Ministers introduced the position of the Government Commissioner for Gender Equality Policy. In addition, in 2017 the Ministry of Internal Affairs established a human rights department, responsible for designing the human rights policy of the Ministry. 16. The Ombudsperson was established in 1998 and became the national equality body with the adoption of the law on preventing and combating discrimination in Ukraine (art. 10) in 2014. 17. In 2015, a National Human Rights Strategy was established, providing a five-year road map, an action that reveals strategic thinking regarding discrimination and violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The national action plan on the Strategy’s 8 9 4 Petition No. 22/042484-ep (author – Victor Tantsiura), 2018. Ombudsperson, Annual Report 2018.