Earlier, we reported that the United Nations published the final report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, which points out the inconsistency of the norms of the scandalous law No. 3894, aimed at banning the activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, with international law. The document states that Ukraine failed to substantiate the need for and proportionality of measures aimed at banning religious organizations.
The United States is once again talking about violations of the rights of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has published a report on the observance of religious freedom in the world for 2024. The document pays special attention to the situation with the violation of the rights of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The report points out that the anti-church law No. 3894, adopted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in August 2024, risks establishing in Ukraine a form of collective responsibility of an entire religious organization for the beliefs of its individual representatives. The report is published on the official website of the USCIRF.
“In August, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed new amendments to the law on the activities of religious organizations, despite widespread concerns about the compatibility of the amendments with international law. The revised legislation allows the government to ban religious organizations in Ukraine that are affiliated with a foreign religious organization whose governing body is located in a country at war with Ukraine. The law also bans the Russian Orthodox Church, which operates only in Russian-occupied Ukraine, and the ideology of the “Russian world.” The amendments are likely to have a significant impact on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), which has been viewed with suspicion by Ukrainian authorities and society since Russia’s 2022 invasion due to the UOC’s historical and ecclesiastical ties to the Moscow Patriarchate. In addition, the new amendments risk imposing collective punishment on individual members of religious communities. In December, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) criticized the amendments, saying they impose “disproportionate restrictions on the freedom to manifest one’s religion or belief.” USCIRF called on the government of Ukraine to ensure that the implementation of the amendments complies with international human rights standards,” — the report said.
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