May 18, 2012
PRESS RELEASE
UWC PRESIDENT EUGENE CZOLIJ MEETS WITH
THE VICE PRESIDENT OF FREEDOM HOUSE IN NEW YORK
On May 15, 2012, Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) President Eugene Czolij met in New York with Arch Puddington, Vice President for Research at Freedom House, to discuss issues related to current events in Ukraine.
Discussions focused primarily on the Russian Federation’s attempts to impede Ukraine’s Euro-integration and breaches by Ukraine’s governing authorities of fundamental human rights and freedoms, an example of which is the imprisonment of former Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Tymoshenko. In addition to addressing the state of democracy in Ukraine in its reports, the UWC President encouraged Freedom House to also deal with the strain exerted by Russia on Ukrainian sovereignty. Eugene Czolij further suggested that reports related to Ukraine be issued in Ukrainian as well as English.
The UWC is an international coordinating body for Ukrainian communities in the diaspora representing the interests of over 20 million Ukrainians. The UWC has member organizations in 32 countries and ties with Ukrainians in 14 additional countries. Founded in 1967 as a non-profit corporation, the UWC was recognized in 2003 as a non-governmental organization (NGO) by the United Nations Economic and Social Council with special consultative status.
