'Legality of ban on UOC-MP has not been proven'. UN criticizes Ukraine's religious policy
Searches in churches of the UOC-MP (Photo: SBU)

The United Nations has criticized Ukraine for dissolving religious organizations, including the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), citing a lack of sufficient justification and potential violations of international standards, according to a report by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) released on December 31.

Such actions supposedly "violate international standards" and that "national security is not a sufficient ground for restricting religious freedom under international agreements."

According to amendments to the law on religious organizations, the activities of foreign religious organizations linked to aggressor states, as well as their Ukrainian partners, are prohibited. Specifically, the law directly bans the activities of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC).

"If a court finds that a Ukrainian religious organization is affiliated with a prohibited foreign religious organization, it could order the Ukrainian religious organization’s dissolution. The dissolution of a religious organization is a severe restriction that affects the ability of individuals to practice their religion or belief together with others and threatens the viability of the community as a whole," the report states.

The law allows for the dissolution of organizations if their "authorized persons" are found guilty of crimes, including those that threaten national security, or are involved in "repeated facts" of spreading the "propaganda of the ideology of the Russian World."

The UN notes: "Such vague formulations do not provide a clear understanding of the requirements of the law and may impose responsibility on entire religious communities for the actions of individual members."

  • In August, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) informed LIGA.net that since the start of the full-scale war, criminal proceedings had been initiated against more than 100 clerics of the UOC-MP, with almost 50 of them already charged and 26 receiving court sentences.
  • On August 20, a law was passed banning the activities of religious organizations linked to Russia, including the ROC and UOC-MP.
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