Church of England urges Ukraine to withdraw bill on banning UOC

Lord Bishop of Leeds Nick Baines in the House of Lords. Photo: Leeds Diocese FB

The Lord Bishop of the House of Lords, Rt Revd. Nick Baines of Leeds, has sent a letter to the Ukrainian Ambassador to the UK, Vadym Prystaiko, calling on the Ukrainian authorities to withdraw Draft Law 8371 to ban the Ukrainian Orthodox Church as "discriminatory". Copies of the letter were also forwarded to Ruslan Stefanchuk, Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament, Professor Nazila Ghanea, UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Rt Hon James Cleverly, UK Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State for the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia, Commonwealth and United Nations at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Delopment Office (FCDO).

The letter was written back on 13 November 2023 but has only now come into the possession of the UOJ editorial team.

In the text, Nick Baines states that the provisions of Bill 8371 "are vague, lack definition and are open to discriminatory interpretation in ways that  violate international norms on freedom of religion or belief."

In his opinion, this draft law is unnecessary because "where individuals have committed treason or other criminal actions against the interests of the state, then they can be held accountable under existing criminal Ukrainian law through due process."

The Anglican bishop stresses that the draft law "threatens collective punishment and runs contrary top the advice given by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe". He recalls that the OSCE document "Freedom of Religion or Belief and Security: Policy Guidance" states that "Any wrong doings on the part of individuals should therefore be addressed through criminal, administrative or civil
proceedings against that person, rather than directed at the religious or belief community as a whole."

Nick Baines points out that "Bill 8371 jeopardises Ukraine's social cohesion at a time when it needs a unified societal response to Russian aggression. He adds, "It encourages an ethno-religious nationalism that will be detrimental to Ukraine’s long term Western trajectory. It does not recognise the great lengths that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has taken to distance itself from the Russian Orthodox Church or the fact that many of its members serve faithfully as Ukrainian citizens in the country’s armed forces – often with immense cost."

"For these reasons, I urge the Government of Ukraine to withdraw this legislative measure, or to amend it to ensure consistency with Ukraine’s constitutional commitments to freedom of religion or belief and its obligations under international law," the Lord Bishop of the House of Lords emphasised.

Below we publish a translation of the full text of the letter.

Dear Ambassador,

The Church of England has stood in solidarity with the people of Ukraine since Russia’s invasion in 2014, and its subsequent aggression in 2022. As its Lead Bishop on Foreign Policy I have spoken out repeatedly in the House of Lords and in public in support of Ukraine’s struggle to be a free, independent and democratic country within internationally recognised borders.

I have also been a keen advocate of freedom of religion or belief for all, and it is in this respect that I write to express my deep concern with Draft Law 8371 which was registered by the Ukrainian Government in the Verkhovna Rada on 19 January 2023 and passed its preliminary vote on 19 October 2023.

Draft Law 8371 seeks to amend Ukrainian law on the freedom of conscience and religious organisations in a way that prohibits the operations of religious organisations with “centres of influence of religious organisations or associations with ruling centres” in “states that carry out armed aggression against Ukraine” (and imposes on the state the obligation to prove any such affiliation in court).

Whilst recognising the emergency situation that Ukraine finds itself in, many of the key terms in this amendment are vague, lack definition and are open to discriminatory interpretation in ways that violate international norms on freedom of religion or belief. This Draft Law is unnecessary: where individuals have committed treason or other criminal actions against the interests of the state, then they can be held accountable under existing criminal Ukrainian law through due process.

At its most basic, this amendment threatens collective punishment and runs contrary to the advice given by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s in its Freedom of Religion or Belief and Security: Policy Guidance that: “Any wrong doings on the part of individuals should therefore be addressed through criminal, administrative or civil proceedings against that person, rather than directed at the religious or belief community as a whole.” The OSCE Guidelines go on to state: “The fact that some individuals engage in such [illegal] activities is not an indication that an entire religious or belief community shares these views or condones these activities.”

Draft Law 8371 threatens Ukraine’s social cohesion at a time when it needs a unified societal response to Russian aggression. It encourages an ethno-religious nationalism that will be detrimental to Ukraine’s long term Western trajectory. It does not recognise the great lengths that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has taken to distance itself from the Russian Orthodox Church or the fact that many of its members serve faithfully as Ukrainian citizens in the country’s armed forces - often with immense cost.

For these reasons, I urge the Government of Ukraine to withdraw this legislative measure, or to amend it to ensure consistency with Ukraine’s constitutional commitments to freedom of religion or belief and its obligations under international law.

Please be assured that my concern with Draft Law 8371 does not in any way condone the position taken by Patriarch Kirill or the Russian Orthodox Church as regards Russian’s invasion of Ukraine. Nor does it condone those individuals in Ukraine who might work against the national security of Ukraine. I continue to remain steadfast in my support of Ukraine’s efforts to reverse Russian aggression, but I fear that this Law is a retrograde measure that will harm Ukraine’s interests in the longer term.

Yours sincerely,

The Rt Revd Nick Baines

The Lord Bishop of Leeds

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