UN ACTS ON JPTi COMPLAINT IN THE CASE OF THE UKRAINIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH (UOC)
- JPTi
- 1 day ago
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Updated: 5 hours ago
On 1 September 2025, Justice pour Tous Internationale (JPTi) issued a press release welcoming the official communication issued by seven United Nations Special Rapporteurs (AL UKR 1/2025) to the Government of Ukraine in direct response to our February 2025 complaint documenting systematic and flagrant persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC).
Full Press Release in English:
š Press Release ā UOC UN communication and USCIRF submission
Full Press Release in Russian:
š ŠŃŠµŃŃ-ŃŠµŠ»ŠøŠ· ā ŠŠ¾Š¼Š¼ŃŠ½ŠøŠŗŠ°ŃŠøŃ ŠŠŠ ŠæŠ¾ Š£ŠŠ¦ Šø ŠæŃŠµŠ“ŃŃŠ°Š²Š»ŠµŠ½ŠøŠµ Š² USCIRF
UN Communication and Government Response:
This landmark development follows JPTiās submission of a detailed complaint documenting arbitrary arrests of clergy, unlawful confiscations of monasteries and churches, and criminalization of liturgy and sermons under the pretext of ānational security.ā The Special Rapporteurs recalled that freedom of religion or belief under Article 18 of the ICCPR is a non-derogable right, even in times of armed conflict, citing General Comment No. 22, which emphasizes that forum internumāthe inner freedom of thought, conscience, and beliefāis absolute and can never be restricted. They further criticized Ukraineās reliance on vague ideological categories such as āRusskiy Mir,ā āextremism,ā or broad āpro-Russianā labels as grounds for prosecution, underscoring that such practices violate international law and the principle of legal certainty.
In parallel, JPTi transmitted its Briefing Note on the Systematic, Ongoing, and Egregious Persecution of the UOCĀ to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), calling on the Commission to convene hearings on Ukraineās Law No. 8371, comparable to its upcoming session on Central Asia, and to recommend that the U.S. State Department designate Ukraine as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC)Ā for systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.
š The full text of the Briefing Note can be downloaded here:
šØļø Sharof Azizov, Executive Director of JPTi, stated: āUkraineās Law No. 8371, its arbitrary enforcement, and the wave of raids, violence, arbitrary detentions, prosecutions, and confiscations targeting the UOC have pushed millions of believers to the brink of worship conducted in defiance of state prescriptions. The UN Special Rapporteurs have now confirmed that these practices cross the threshold of international illegality. It is vital that USCIRF apply the same standards to Ukraine as it does to Central Asian states, consistent with its mandate under the International Religious Freedom Act.ā
Justice pour Tous Internationale extends its gratitude to the UN Special Procedures mandate holders for their principled engagement and reaffirms its commitment to defending the rights of clergy and believers persecuted for their faith.
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