27 May 2013
MEDIA RELEASE
UWC President concludes working visit to New York
On 23 May 2013, Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) President Eugene Czolij concluded a working visit to New York, U.S.A., during which he met with representatives of the United Nations (UN), the non‑governmental organizations Freedom House and Human Rights Watch, and the CEO of Self‑Reliance (NY) Federal Credit Union.
During their meeting, the UWC President familiarized Andrei Abramov, Chief NGO Branch, Office of the UN Economic and Social Council, with the work of the UWC, primarily related to the issues of Ukraine’s Euro-integration and democratization. The parties also discussed avenues for future cooperation, including on combating human trafficking.
In discussions with Arch Puddington, Vice President for Research, Freedom House, and Rachel Denber, Deputy Director, Europe and Central Asia Division, Human Rights Watch, Eugene Czolij focused attention on the role of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement in Ukraine’s democratic process and the significance of signing this agreement during the Third Summit of the Eastern Partnership on 28‑29 November 2013 in Vilnius. The UWC President also called upon the human rights organizations to monitor the treatment of national minorities by Russian authorities, particularly NGOs.
Together with the President of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, Tamara Gallo Olexy, Eugene Czolij visited the Self-Reliance (NY) Federal Credit Union and presented a plaque to CEO Bohdan Kurczak in recognition of the financial institution’s long standing and substantial financial support of the UWC. On this occasion, Bohdan Kurczak presented a generous donation for the work of the UWC.
Photos with captions from the meetings are posted on the UWC web site.
Media Contact: Irene Mycak
UKRAINIAN WORLD CONGRESS
145 Evans Ave., Suite 207
Toronto, ON
M8Z 5X8 Canada
website: www.ukrainianworldcongress.org
The UWC is the international coordinating body for Ukrainian communities in the diaspora representing the interests of over 20 million Ukrainians. The UWC has member organizations in 33 countries and ties with Ukrainians in 14 additional countries. Founded in 1967 as a non-profit corporation, the UWC was recognized in 2003 by the United Nations Economic and Social Council as a non-governmental organization (NGO) with special consultative status.
