Swiss human rights activists reported to the UN about systematic persecution of the UOC in Ukraine

The Geneva-based human rights organization Justice for All International (JPTi) has documented the facts of persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church by filing a detailed complaint with the UN. In response, UN experts sent an official appeal to the Ukrainian government, confirming violations of international law. In addition, the organization appealed to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) with a demand to hold hearings on the issue and put Ukraine on the list of countries of particular concern.

According to information published on the portal «Orthodoxy.ru», in a complaint dated February 11, 2025, Justice pour Tous Internationale cited specific cases of arrests of clergy, illegal confiscation of church property and criminalization of religious expression under the pretext of national security. The document describes, in particular, the cases of Metropolitans Theodosius, Pavel, Arseniy, Longin, priest Yevhen Koshelnik, as well as journalists and human rights activists.

The reaction of international organizations followed on May 14, when seven UN Special Rapporteurs sent an official communication to the Government of Ukraine (AL UKR 1/2025). In it, the experts confirmed the existence of violations and reminded that freedom of religion is an absolute and non-derogable right even in times of armed conflict.

Continuing its activities, on August 30, JPTi sent a briefing note to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. The human rights activists called for hearings on the persecution of Christians in Ukraine and a recommendation that the country be added to a special list of states where religious freedoms are violated.

«Ukraine’s Law 8371 and the wave of searches, violence, arbitrary detentions and confiscations have brought millions of believers to the brink of worshiping in defiance of state regulations,» said JPTi Executive Director Sharof Azizov. The organization stressed the need to apply to Ukraine the same standards that USCIRF uses to assess the situation in other states.

We will remind, earlier we reported on a new UN report on the situation with violations of human rights in Ukraine for the period from December 1, 2024 to May 31, 2025 recorded attacks on clergy and believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The document cites as an example the situation with the seizures of UOC churches in Bukovyna, pointing out that the incidents took place with the full connivance of law-enforcement agencies.