His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufriy of Kyiv and All Ukraine sent an appeal to the leadership of the United Nations: Secretary General Mr. António Guterres and his deputy, Ms. Amina J. Mohammed, UN adviser on the prevention of genocide, Ms. Alice Vayrim Nderit. This was reported by the Information and Educational Department of the UOC.
“Since February 2022, Ukraine has been living in a full-scale war. In this terrible time of military disaster and extremely difficult trials, we would like to ask you to pay attention to the gross violation of the right to freedom of conscience and religion in Ukraine, which consists in the violation of the rights and discrimination of Orthodox Christians of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC),” the appeal says.
The document drew attention to the independent status of the UOC, to the fact that the largest denomination of Ukraine, which from the first days condemned Russia’s armed aggression against the Ukrainian people and “together with millions of Ukrainians of other faiths, stood up for the defense of the integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine, provides large-scale assistance to all victims of war, many believers of the UOC defend their homeland with weapons in their hands.
The UN leadership was informed about anti-church bills No. 8221, No. 8262, No. 8371, No. 7403, No. 8012; on the application of personal sanctions against religious figures of the UOC, as well as on the illegal activities of local governments.
The UOC also drew attention to international legal acts regulating the human right to freedom of religion, and recalled that “since the beginning of independence, the Ukrainian state has tried to implement into national legislation the postulates regarding freedom of religion proclaimed in international legal acts.” In particular, we are talking about the Basic Law of the State — the Constitution of Ukraine and the Law of Ukraine “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations”.
“The link between peace and human rights is inextricable. Human rights and the rule of law are a matter of common security, as important as military potential or economic stability,” the UOC said.
In conclusion, the appeal noted that “at a recent meeting of the UN Security Council, the issue of the situation that has developed around the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, but without the UOC itself, was discussed.”
“Despite the complexity of the situation, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is ready to provide its representative and convey important information to the international community first hand,” the document says.
“We hope that our voice will be heard and the citizens of Ukraine, who are believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), will receive the necessary support and protection at the international level. We hope for the timely adoption of all necessary measures aimed at countering the incitement of religious hatred and discrimination against believing citizens of Ukraine and religious organizations of the UOC, and the development of recommendations and forwarding them to the Government of Ukraine regarding the protection of religious freedoms,” the Ukrainian Orthodox Church’s appeal sums up.
