Follow-Up Report to the United Nations Human Rights Committee on Ukraine
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On 5 February 2026, Justice pour Tous Internationale (JPTi) formally submitted an alternative follow-up report to the United Nations Human Rights Committee in the framework of its assessment of Ukraine’s implementation of priority recommendations issued under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
The submission has been officially registered by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights as follow-up information from other sources in relation to Ukraine’s eighth periodic review and the concluding observations adopted on 9 February 2022. The report will be examined during the 145th session of the Human Rights Committee, which will take place from 2 to 19 March 2026 at Palais Wilson in Geneva.
Although freedom of thought, conscience, and religion under Article 18 of the Covenant was not designated as a priority paragraph for follow-up, the submission demonstrates that the effective implementation of the selected recommendations cannot be meaningfully assessed without examining their practical consequences for religious communities and those defending them. The report underscores the interconnected nature of Articles 17, 14, and 19, and their cumulative effect on the non-derogable guarantees of Article 18.
On 14 May 2025, seven United Nations Special Procedures mandate holders addressed a joint allegation letter to the Government of Ukraine under reference AL UKR 1/2025, raising concerns regarding alleged discrimination, arbitrary detention, and measures affecting members of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and those defending them. On 1 October 2025, United Nations independent experts publicly expressed concern regarding the treatment of the same religious community and recalled that freedom of religion or belief is non-derogable even in situations of armed conflict. These developments form part of the broader factual and legal context addressed in the JPTi submission.
The full text of the JPTi submission can be accessed on the official United Nations treaty body website at the following link:
or download it here:
Through this engagement, Justice pour Tous Internationale seeks to assist the Human Rights Committee in its treaty-based assessment and to contribute constructively to the evaluation of whether the State party has effectively implemented the priority recommendations identified in 2022. The organization reiterates that all restrictions on privacy, judicial guarantees, and freedom of expression must comply with the principles of legality, necessity, proportionality, and non-discrimination, and that non-derogable rights must be upheld without exception.
During its 145th session, the Committee will consider periodic reports of several States parties, adopt lists of issues and lists of issues prior to reporting, and assess follow-up reports to concluding observations. In the context of Ukraine, the Committee will evaluate the State party’s follow-up submission concerning paragraphs 42, 44, and 48 of its 2022 concluding observations. These paragraphs address the right to privacy under Article 17 of the Covenant, the independence of the judiciary and fair trial guarantees under Article 14, and freedom of expression under Article 19. Further information regarding the session is available on the official United Nations treaty body webpage: https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/treatybodyexternal/SessionDetails1.aspx?SessionID=2837&Lang=en
The JPTi submission provides a detailed legal analysis of the extent to which the formal legislative safeguards described by the State party are implemented in practice, particularly in cases framed as national security matters. It documents systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedoms, with a specific impact on members of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, as well as on journalists, lawyers, and public figures associated with the defence of religious freedom. The report examines patterns of searches and surveillance affecting religious premises and clergy, prolonged pre-trial detention of religious leaders, criminal proceedings related to sermons and theological expression, sanctions and asset seizures affecting individuals associated with religious institutions, and measures impacting journalists and legal advocates engaged in reporting or defending such cases.
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