European Commission against Racism published a report on acts of intolerance against various ethnic groups in Ukraine.

Below is an Article written Agence France-Presse published by IFocus:

Discrimination against the Roma community, continuing anti-Semitism, violence in Crimea and other acts of intolerance against various ethnic groups in Ukraine were singled out in the report by the Council of Europe's racism-monitoring body, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI).

"However, criminal legislation against racially-motivated crimes has not been strengthened and the authorities have not yet adopted a comprehensive body of civil and administrative anti-discrimination laws," the body said.

"There have been very few prosecutions against people who make anti-Semitic statements or publish anti-Semitic literature."

According to ECRI, the Roma face discrimination in matters of education, employment and housing.

High infections and cardiovascular diseases, along with malnutrition, are other problems, with only half of Romas having the means to eat daily, added ECRI, which also revealed a rise in the rate of infectious and cardiovascular diseases among its members.

One ray of hope in the current situation, according to ECRI, is that several Roma are pursuing studies in journalism -- an evolution it said reinforced diversity in the profession.

ECRI also expressed concern about attacks against rabbis and Jewish students, as well as the vandalism of synagogues, cemeteries and cultural centres.

Tensions between Crimean Tartars and ethnic Russians in Ukraine -- mainly based on disagreements about land and historic monuments -- were another source of concern, the report said.

Skinhead violence against Tartars and Jews is also frequent and police have offered little protection to the different communities, it said.

And ECRI asked Ukrainian authorities to step up efforts to fight violence by skinheads against Africans, Asians, and people from the Caucasus and the Middle East.

Composed of independent members, ECRI periodically analyses racism and intolerance in the 47 member States of the Council of Europe.