A round table promoted by the Committee for National and Religious Affairs was held n Kiev at the end of May on the theme: “The priorities of state policy in the sphere of freedom of conscience: ways of realization”. Representatives of the Catholic Church of Byzantine rite, the Orthodox Church and Sheik Ahmed Tamim, leader of the Spiritual Direction of Muslims in Ukraine and Mufti of Ukraine, participated in the seminar. All the delegates made one request: changing the priorities of state policy towards freedom of conscience. In particular the church representatives asked the government in Kiev to continue its work on improving Church-State relations to create a better framework of collaboration between them. They also expressed their regret about the lack of progress made in legislation on Church-State relations in 2006. Virtually all the bills in the field of freedom of conscience were rejected by the Rada Suprema (Parliament), including those that made provision for the protection of the educational and social activities of the Church. The question relating to the insertion of the teaching of Christian ethics in the school curriculum at the regional level and that of the training of teachers remain unresolved. Lastly, the conduct of the Commission of the Council of Ministers on the questions of the restitution of Church property was remarked; it makes decisions without the participation of religious representatives.
