JPTi has taken decisive action to expose the ongoing and systematic persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC). On 11 February 2025, JPTi formally submitted a complaint to the United Nations Human Rights Council’s Special Procedures, calling attention to flagrant violations of religious freedom, including arbitrary arrests of clergy, forced expropriation of religious properties, and criminalization of religious expression under the pretext of national security.
Despite these abuses, we regret to acknowledge the silence and inaction of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Ms. Nazila Ghanea. A British citizen of Iranian descent, Ms. Ghanea appears shielding President Zelensky no matter what, rather than fulfilling her mandate to protect religious freedom.
🔴 Key Issues Raised in Our Complaint:
🔹 The Ukrainian government has declared the UOC’s rejection of the 2019 Tomos of Autocephaly as extremism, falsely equating theological disputes with national security threats.
🔹 UOC clergy and believers are being prosecuted for exercising their religious freedoms, with accusations of "justifying aggression" or "undermining sovereignty" simply for holding religious services or expressing their faith.
🔹 Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, Sviatohirsk Lavra, and numerous churches have been forcibly confiscated by the state-backed Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) in violation of international law.
🔹 UOC hierarchs Metropolitan Jonathan (Yeletskikh), Metropolitan Meletii (Egorenko), and Metropolitan Arseniy (Yakovenko) have had their Ukrainian citizenship revoked without due process, rendering them stateless—an egregious human rights violation.
🔹 UOC-affiliated journalists, including Dmytro Skvortsov, and human rights defenders, including lawyer Svitlana Novytska, have been arbitrarily detained and criminally prosecuted for exposing religious persecution.
📌 Religious Freedom is a Non-Derogable Right
Under Article 18 of the ICCPR, religious freedom is an absolute right, meaning it cannot be suspended—even during times of war. Ukraine’s invocation of security concerns to justify religious persecution is illegal under international law. The UN Human Rights Committee has repeatedly ruled that states cannot misuse counter-terrorism laws to restrict religious freedom.
📢 CALL TO ACTION
✔ The UN HRC, the OSCE, and the Council of Europe to launch an independent investigation into Ukraine’s systematic suppression of the UOC.
✔ The UN Special Procedures Mandate Holders to issue a joint communication condemning Ukraine’s religious persecution and urging immediate corrective measures.
✔ Human rights organizations, religious freedom advocates, and the media to shed light on these injustices and demand accountability from Ukraine’s leadership.
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