After the beginning of the special military operation, the formation of a “Zelenskyy dictatorship” rapidly gathered pace, he said, adding that political opponents and independent journalists were persecuted and draconian laws were adopted. In the ensuing debate, the representative of the Russian Federation said that Moscow will not “put up with the fact that a malicious, Russophobic, anti-Christian dictatorship is being formed on our borders”. Such actions amount to a form of “mass political repression”, he stressed. More recently, he said, Ukraine’s National Defence and Security Council adopted several measures instructing the Government to draft a bill prohibiting the activities of churches with ties to the Russian Orthodox Church and introducing sanctions against its clergy, including one which deprives senior clergy of their Ukrainian citizenship. Pointing to a 2019 law aimed at changing the name of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which endeavours to separate the Church from its property and eventually fully eliminate its activities in Ukraine, he noted various incidents of increasing hostility as well as a defamatory media campaign showing clear signs of hate speech. Noting that more than 7,000 civilians have been killed in Ukraine since 24 February 2022, she pointed out that the damage and destruction of half of the country’s energy infrastructure system have also severely restricted civilians’ rights to health and adequate standards of living.Īlso briefing the Council today was Metropolitan of Volokolamsk Anthony, Chairman of the Department of External Church Relations of the Patriarchate of Moscow, who expressed grave concern regarding the rights of Orthodox believers in Ukraine. Highlighting the deteriorating relations between the two communities, she pointed to searches conducted in the premises of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church by Ukraine’s security service, criminal charges against at least three clergy and two recent draft laws that could undermine the right to freedom of religion.Ĭalling on both parties to ensure freedom of religion, she said the Russian Federation’s armed attacks against Ukraine, including the missile strike on 14 January, have resulted in daily and severe forms of human rights violations. Ilze Brands Kehris, Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights in the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), drew attention to the restrictions to freedom of religion across Ukraine, both in territory controlled by the Government as well as that occupied by the Russian Federation. While stressing the importance of upholding the right to freedom of religion, speakers in the Security Council also cautioned against the dangers of using religion to fuel conflict, as they considered the situation in Ukraine.
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