UN reports discrimination against Estonian Orthodox Church

The UN Human Rights Council. Photo: LinkedIn

In Geneva, a summary of materials for a report by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights was presented, documenting facts of repression against the Estonian Orthodox Christian Church (EOCC).

The document, prepared for the 52nd Session of the Human Rights Council working group, notes that Estonian national security legislation has become an instrument for combating religious dissent.

The human rights organization Justice pour Tous Internationale (Justice for All International) in its report to the UN pointed to a "securitized paradigm" within which affiliation with religious denominations is equated with a threat to national security.

Amendments to Estonia's Criminal Code have allowed authorities to criminalize "support" for foreign organizations based on vague formulations, leading to non-transparent judicial proceedings and violations of the right to defense.

The Law on Churches and Parishes of June 18, 2025, caused particular concern among human rights defenders. This regulation imposed a ban on maintaining "spiritual ties" with foreign centers and empowered officials to deregister religious communities without trial, as well as expel clergy on non-transparent grounds. As a result, the historic Church faces the threat of forced dissolution and expulsion of its leadership.

Furthermore, UN experts emphasized the systematic marginalization of the Russian-speaking minority in Estonia, which affects matters of religious belief. The report indicates that the republic's anti-discrimination legislation remains insufficiently developed, prohibiting persecution on religious grounds only in the sphere of employment.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that Metropolitan Theodosiy reported on  religious genocide in Ukraine at the UN.

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