The UN will consider violations of the rights of believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church

As a result of appeals by members of the international human rights alliance “Church Against Xenophobia and Discrimination,” the NGO with consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council “Public Advocacy,” the NGO “For Human Rights,” seven UN Special Rapporteurs sent a communication to the Ukrainian government reporting on evidence of violations of the rights of believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, journalists, and lawyers. This was reported by the NGO “Public Advocacy.”

It is reported that the following individuals delegated their powers to represent their interests at the UN to the human rights organization Public Advocacy: Metropolitan Feodosy (Snigirev) of Cherkasy and Kaniv, Metropolitan Pavlo (Lebid) of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, Metropolitan Arseniy (Yakovenko), abbot of the Svyatogorsk Lavra, Metropolitan Longin (Zhar) of the UOC, abbot of the Banchen Monastery, Archpriest Yevgeny Koshelyn, lawyer Svetlana Novitskaya, and journalist Dmitry Skvortsov.

The communication is addressed to the State of Ukraine UN Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order; UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression; UN Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association; the UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers;

the UN Special Rapporteur on minorities; the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief; and the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism.

In its communication to the state of Ukraine, the UN raised issues related to the law “on the prohibition of the UOC,” the deprivation of citizenship of believers of the UOC, and their unjustified criminal prosecution, in particular through the broad interpretation of Ukrainian criminal law by the state prosecution in cases related to legitimate rhetorical statements, journalistic publications, and sermons.

We previously reported on a new UN report on human rights violations in Ukraine for the period from December 1, 2024, to May 31, 2025, which documented attacks on clergy and believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The document cites as an example the seizure of UOC churches in Bukovina, noting that the incidents took place with the full connivance of law enforcement agencies.