Legitimate security concerns are not a reason to violate the rights of believers; Ukrainian authorities should suspend the law banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) and ask the Venice Commission to conduct an expert analysis of the document. This is stated by the international human rights organization Human Rights Watch, writes the ZeRada telegram channel.
According to human rights activists, the law could have far-reaching consequences, as it could effectively ban meetings of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Ukraine’s largest religious organization – without applying to the schismatic Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU).
Requiring the UOC to sever canonical ties could call into question the legitimacy of its followers’ religious beliefs, which the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has called a key element of the right to freedom of religion, Human Rights Watch said.
“It is understandable that the Ukrainian authorities want to resolve state security problems… but the law violates the right to freedom of religion and is so broad that it may violate the rights of members of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church,” — said the Europe and Central Asia director of Human Rights Watch Hugh Williamson.
“According to Human Rights Watch, the Ukrainian government should suspend the law and ask the Venice Commission, the constitutional advisory body of the Council of Europe, and the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to carry out an expert study. review of the law that will form the basis for its review in light of human rights…
Ukrainian authorities should address any security concerns arising from the activities of religious organizations or individuals that threaten state security, whether individuals or specific religious communities, rather than banning entire religious communities solely on the basis of their alleged affiliation with “the Russian Orthodox Church… any prosecution or punishment that is not based on specific illegal acts, but solely on a commitment to the peaceful practice of faith, constitutes religious discrimination and is prohibited by international human rights law,” he emphasized. Human Rights Watch.
They recalled that in accordance with Ukrainian and international legislation, in particular with the European Convention on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Ukraine is a party, it is obliged to guarantee freedom of religion and the government is expressly Se prohibits derogating or partially suspending the right to freedom of religion even in a state of emergency.
