Today, on the Constitution Day of Ukraine, Ambassador Oksana Markarovaa the panel discussion “Defense of Democracy in Ukraine is Pivotal for Restoring Global Order” at the Ukraine House in Washington DC. 

In her opening remarks, Ambassador Markarova noted that the adoption of the Constitution by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on June 28, 1996, was an important milestone in the development of the independent Ukrainian statehood. 

The Constitution of 1996 underscored the importance of human life as the highest value of the Ukrainian state. And this recognition is what makes Ukraine a part of democratic world and what broke its ties to the Soviet past.

We thank Mr. Erin M. Barclay, Acting Assistant Secretary Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor U.S. Department of State; Mr. Eli M. Rosenbaum, Counselor on War Crimes Accountability, U.S. Department of Justice, and Professor Mitt Regan, Faculty Coordinator of the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group for Ukraine at the Georgetown University’s Center on National Security and the Law and Judge Bohdan Futey for valuable contribution to today’s discussion, moderated by Ambassador William Taylor, Vice President of the U.S. Institute of Peace.