US State Department publishes report on pressure on Ukrainian Orthodox Church

The United States Department of State has published the 2023 Religious Freedom in Ukraine report. The document lists specific facts of the Ukrainian government’s pressure on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. In particular, it mentions the discriminatory decrees of the President of Ukraine regarding the UOC, as well as the seizure of churches and the possible adoption of Bill No. 8371, aimed at banning the UOC. This is reported by the UOJ website.

«On March 29, President Zelensky called the beginning of the eviction of the UOC from the Lavra a step towards «strengthening the spiritual independence of our nation and protecting our society from Moscow’s old and cynical manipulations of religion. Ukraine is the territory of the greatest religious freedom in our part of Europe. This has been the case since 1991. It will always be so.» The eviction has attracted considerable media attention and has led to periodic public protests and demonstrations by supporters and opponents of the UOC in the area, including some monks,» — the document says about the eviction of the UOC from the Kyiv Cave Monastery.

The report drew attention to the possible adoption of Bill No. 8371, by which the Ukrainian authorities want to ban the UOC. The document indicates that this bill is discriminatory and violates freedom of religion.

«UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk expressed concern that the restrictions proposed in the bill would violate freedom of religion and international human rights law. Some religious experts have stated that the government already has a sufficient legal framework under existing laws to address security issues related to religion, and there is no need to adopt additional legislation,» — the State Department added.

Earlier, we reported that the head of the international human rights company Amsterdam & Partners LLP, Robert Amsterdam, who represents the legal interests of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, criticized the Ukrainian government for attempts to persuade the UOC hierarchs under investigation to exchange them for prisoners of war. The lawyer said that his company would prepare relevant statements to the International Criminal Court and other organizations describing the facts of such situations.