UOC tells about protection of the Church at the international level

Bishop Victor (Kotsaba) of Baryshevka. Photo: pravlife

The Head of the UOC Representation to European International Organizations, Bishop Victor (Kotsaba) of Baryshevka, told about the results of activities of the synodal structure he leads in an interview with “Pravlife” edition.

In particular, His Grace noted that the UOC “systematically informs the relevant structures and the OSCE leadership of all recorded violations of the rights of believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.”

According to him, “it is absolutely clear that the “Ukrainian issue” is now firmly embedded in the geopolitical component of everything that happens in the world”, and “until global changes take place on the world stage, we should not expect any specific changes in our local situation.”

At the same time, Vladyka says, “robbery should not go unpunished,” therefore, “all our appeals regarding past and current violations are included into the OSCE documentary base, which human rights activists, officials, diplomats and journalists are constantly working with.” He is confident that “the time will come when the accumulated information will break into a broader environment.”

Bishop Victor also said that the UOC “cooperates with the mechanisms of the United Nations Human Rights Council, whose headquarters are based in Geneva.”

He noted that “the Council holds three sessions annually. Within the framework of the sessions, there is also an opportunity to organize events on the topic of human rights violations.”

For example, “on September 25 this year, as part of the 42nd session of the UNHRC, representatives of the affected communities of Rovno region, who were subjected to physical violence during illegal seizures of their temples, took part in such a side event.”

In addition, according to the Bishop, “in February, a meeting was held between the head of the UOC Representation and the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović”. Bishop Victor said that Dunja Mijatović was able "to see with her own eyes how Orthodox believers in Ukraine, who are beaten, insulted and expelled from their temples, are forced to defend their rights."

The Bishop reported that an agreement was reached with the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights to continue reporting on the situation with the UOC, while "Ms. Mijatović herself announced her readiness to respond in accordance with her mandate."

In this regard, the hierarch says, “to date, dozens of appeals from affected religious communities with the assistance of the UOC Representation have been sent to the European Commissioner for Human Rights who, in turn, forwards relevant requests to the Standing Mission of Ukraine at the Council of Europe. This is a kind of documentary circulation.”

He also noted that “on November 22, the UN Human Rights Committee made a decision with regard to the state of Ukraine to prevent the eviction of the religious community of the UOC from its premises in the city of Ivano-Frankovsk in Chernovola Street.”

The hierarch expressed the hope that "the decision of the UN Human Rights Committee will take effect, as Ukraine has signed a number of international documents it must comply with in its territory."

The Bishop also said that “the UOC Representation to International European Organizations has established working contact with the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Ahmed Shaheed.”

According to him, “on March 8 this year, the head of the Representation of the UOC met with the Special Rapporteur, and in October 2018 four UN Special Rapporteurs sent a communication request to the state of Ukraine, which listed facts of violations of religious rights of believers, including the prevention of chaplains of the UOC to the ranks of the Armed Forces to provide spiritual guidance to believing servicemen of our Church, as well as church raiding, the beating of parishioners and so on."

Vladyka emphasized that the Ukrainian side responded to these requests from the UN representatives only in May, refuting the facts of violations of the UOC believers’ rights in Ukraine.

Moreover, the hierarch pointed out that in these replies “the information was submitted in such a way as if new churches for the UOC parishioners instead of those, which had been grabbed by the OCU members, were being built reportedly with the participation of the state, which is not true, of course.”

Earlier, the UOJ wrote that the issue of the anti-church law on renaming the UOC was raised at the UN Forum.

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