Facts of persecution against UOC included in world's human rights report

A report by the international human rights organization Amnesty International. Photo: amnesty.org

The annual 2026 report on the state of human rights around the world recorded instances of pressure on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. This is stated in the report issued by the international human rights organization Amnesty International.

The document notes that steps were taken in Ukraine "to disband" the Ukrainian Orthodox Church as a legal entity. In particular, the state regulator demanded that the Church sever its ties with the Russian Orthodox Church, even though the UOC had stated that such decisions had already been made earlier.

Also mentioned is the court case involving the Kyiv diocese of the UOC, which by the end of the reporting period still remained unresolved.

Particular attention in the report is given to the position of UN experts, who criticized the legal framework behind these proceedings as "lacking legal certainty and falsely “equating religious affiliation with threats to national security.”

"They also warned of 'persecution' against the UOC, criticized prosecutions of clergy, a journalist and a defence lawyer as 'collective punishment,' and urged Ukraine to cease such trials and review restrictive laws," the report states.

In addition, the report addresses the ruling of Ukraine’s Supreme Court, according to which refusal of military service on religious grounds is not permitted under martial law, although believers’ convictions, it notes, should be taken into account when determining the form of service.

As the UOJ previously reported, a deputy in Ternopil proposed classifying UOC priests as enemies of the people.

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