Remarks by the delegation of Ukraine during the Interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief (24 October 2024)

Chair,

Ukraine expresses its gratitude to the Special Rapporteur for her briefing and report.

Since the very beginning of its aggression against Ukraine back in 2014, the Kremlin continues to use the Russian Orthodox Church to justify and sanctify its war of aggression against Ukraine, turning the Church into a political entity and an accomplice to Russian war crimes in Ukraine.

Another example of this is the approval by the ROC of the overtly fascist-style 'program document', which shamelessly labels the invasion as a 'holy war'. The said document was adopted by the so-called ‘extraordinary congress of the World Russian People's Council,’ convened in Moscow earlier this year, under the chairmanship of Kirill Gundyaev, head of the Russian Orthodox Church.

This document is a reprehensible ideological manifesto that amalgamates Kremlin propaganda and narratives, striving to cultivate a broader nationalist ideology supportive of Russia's aggressive war against Ukraine and its expansionist ambitions elsewhere. It promotes ideologies rooted in racism, xenophobia, neo-Nazism, and neo-colonialism, challenging the norms and principles enshrined in international law and human rights standards.

Moreover, the Russian Church has publicly justified the murder of about 50 Ukrainian priests, theologians, and pastors—some of whom were killed while wearing liturgical vestments. The occupiers have destroyed or damaged more than 630 religious buildings and places of worship. They have closed houses of worship, persecuted believers, and tortured religious leaders. 

In the temporarily occupied territories, only the Russian Orthodox Church is allowed to operate freely. In cities such as Melitopol, Berdiansk, and others, the Russian Church has seized religious buildings, forcibly expelling their rightful owners.

As noted in the OHCHR report, the Russian occupying authorities in Crimea have consistently suppressed freedom of expression, particularly targeting minority cultures and identities. They have severely restricted religious freedom for minority groups, especially those opposing the occupation. Muslim Crimean Tatars have been among the most notable targets, persecuted and sentenced to harsh prison terms under Russia's anti-extremism and counterterrorism laws.

The eviction of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine from its Cathedral in Simferopol—the last remaining place of worship for the Ukrainian Orthodox community in Crimea—is part of a broader effort to erase all traces of Ukrainian identity from the occupied peninsula.

In the face of ongoing brutal Russian aggression and the Kremlin’s use of the Russian Orthodox Church to justify its war on Ukraine, on August 20, 2024, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine passed the Law of Ukraine ‘On the Protection of the Constitutional Order in the Sphere of Religious Organisations.’ This law aims to prevent religious organizations in Ukraine from being subordinated to the Russian Church, which has declared a ‘holy war’ against Ukraine. It does not impose a ban on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

Thank you.