40^TH ANNIVERSARY BANQUET HELD IN TORONTO

     The 40^th anniversary banquet held in Toronto on March 3, 2007 was attended by close to 600 people. Ukraine’s presidential advisor and former Interior Affairs Minister Yuriy Lucenko delivered the keynote address. Other speakers included His Excellency Ihor Ostash, Ukraine’s Ambassador to Canada, the Honorable Borys Wrzesniewski, MP Canada, Yuriy Shymko, former president and Askold S. Lozynskyj, current president of the Ukrainian World Congress. Orysia Sushko, president of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, hosted the program. Ukrainian financial institutions, Self Reliance (N.Y.) FCU, Heritage Foundation, Buduchnist (Toronto) CU, Ukrainian Caisse Populaire (Montreal), Ukrainian  CU (Toronto), So-Use CU, St. Josaphat’s CU and St. Mary’s CU were recognized for their long term support of UWC activities. Self Reliance (N.Y) and Heritage both made 10,000 US$ presentations to the UWC at the event. The concert program consisted of local Toronto youth dancers. The UWC extends thanks to Marijka Szkambara, Olga Danylak and Stach Haba for organizing the event.

UWC EXECUTIVE MEETS

     The UWC Executive met in Toronto on Saturday, March 3, 2007. In addition to considering reports of the president, first vice-president, general secretary, treasurer, financial director and the chairs of the UWC various councils and commissions, particular attention was devoted to 60^th anniversary observances of “Akcija Wisla” and the 75^th anniversary of the Great Famine. A decision was made to seek a private meeting with Poland’s Prime-minister Kaczynski and to participate in the 60^th anniversary activities in Peremyshl. As to the Great Famine, priority was set for the construction of the Memorial/Museum complex in Kyiv to be completed at Ukraine’s expense by November 2008 and enacting resolutions in foreign parliaments with the condemnation of genocide and inclusion in educational curricula as the salient elements.

UWC FAMINE COORDINATING COMMITTEE MEETS

STREET IN KYIV TO BE RENAMED MYTROPOLYT LYPKIVSKYJ STREET

     On February 26, 2007 the Kyiv Administration submitted a formal proposal to the Kyiv City Council to rename Uryckyj Street in Kyiv where the Metropolyt of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church lived and near his first pastoral parish -  Metropolyt Vasyl Lypkivskyj Street.  The formal draft legislation is the result of a long-term effort by the Ukrainian Orthodox Brotherhood from Northport, Florida, which enlisted the support of the Ukrainian World Congress in December 2006. UWC president Askold S. Lozynskyj met with the Kyiv City Administration on February 20, 2007 and was assured that this action would be taken. The Kyiv City Council is scheduled to meet in March 2007 at which time formal legislation should be enacted.

UWC SEEKS PERSONAL MEETING WITH POLAND’S PRIME MINISTER

     In a follow-up letter to Poland’s Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the UWC has requested a private meeting to discuss the ten proposals outlined in a letter/memorandum submitted earlier to the President of Poland, the Marshall of its Sejm and the Prime Minister.  The items include:

• return of church and community property;
  
• relocation assistance for the deported or their descendants;
  
• prosecution of the perpetrators; compensation of those interned in Jawoznie;
  
• abrogation of “Akcija Wisla” laws, decrees, etc.;
  
• condemnation of “Akcija Wisla” by the Polish Sejm;
  
• inclusion of “Akcija Wisla” in Poland’s educational curriculum;
  
• establishment of a State Fund to develop Ukrainian community life in Poland;
  
• ensuring Ukrainian community political representation in Poland; and
  
• the establishment of separate Commission to monitor the aforesaid.

UWC ISSUES STATEMENT FOR UNITED NATIONS’ CONFERENCE

     The UWC has issued a statement on slave trafficking to the 51^st Session of the United Nations’ Commission on the Status of Women, held at the United Nations’ Headquarters in New York on February 26-March 9, 2007. In its statement the UWC calls upon the United Nations system and governments to:

• marshal the political will to combat trafficking;
  
• undertake prevention and awareness campaigns;
  
• encourage and support the activities of non-governmental organizations;
  
• promulgate national legislation to punish traffickers and their facilitators;
  
• prioritize law enforcement efforts to arrest and convict traffickers;
  
• provide humanitarian services to victims and reintegrate them into society;
  
• ratify and implement the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime including the Protocol to  Prevent, Suppress and Punish the Trafficking of Persons, Especially Women and Children;
  
• address and interrupt the international financial underpinning of this trade;
  
• develop international, regional and bilateral cooperation with countries of origin transit and destination;
  
• accord special focus on the new front for traffickers in Eastern and Central Europe.

UWC HUMAN AND CIVIL RIGHTS’ COMMISSION WRITES TO RUSSIAN PRESIDENT ON CRIMINALITY AGAINST UKRAINIANS IN RUSSIA

     Over the last six months the UWCHCRC has written twice to President Vladimir Putin concerning the unsolved killing in Vladivostok of a Ukrainian community activist, Anatolij Kril and an attempt on the life of a Ukrainian community leader in Tula Oblast, Natalia Kovaliova. Unfortunately, to date there has been no response from President Putin. Since the letter Ms. Kovaliova’s husband, himself a community leader, Volodymyr Senyshyn has been killed under mysterious circumstances. The UWCHCRC will continue to insist upon a complete investigation and will continue to monitor criminality against Ukrainian community activist in Russia.