1512: UN Experts Warn Ukraine Against Religious Persecution of Ukrainian Orthodox Church Under Law 3894-IX
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/10/02
How do UN Special Procedures experts view Ukraine’s actions against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, including citizenship revocations and Law 3894-IX, in light of ICCPR Article 18 protections for freedom of religion?
A group of UN Special Procedures experts on October 1, 2025, expressed grave concern at reports of persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC).
Current measures risk violating international human rights standards. They direct particular attention top the provisions of the ICCPR Article 18 regarding freedom of conscience, religion, and thought. These rights are non-derogable.
The UN Special Procedures experts argue that national security is not a lawful basis for limiting the manifestation of freedom of religion. The experts drew attention to the revocation of Metropolitan Onufriy’s Ukrainian citizenship in July 2025, which was carried out on national security grounds.
On September 30, 2025, a court heard a DESS lawsuit to dissolve the Kyiv Metropolis. The allegations were based on affiliation with the Russian Orthodox Church.
The UN experts also criticized Law 3894-IX, which permits the dissolution of any religious organization linked to the Russian Orthodox Church. They argued that this creates a framework for state control that is incompatible with international standards.
They warned that legal certainty is undermined when justifications rest on vague labels such as “pro-Russian affiliation.” Their concern is the potential risk of criminalizing belief, assembly, and association.
UOC figures and defenders have been facing ongoing prosecutions, including those of Metropolitans Arsenii, Pavlo, Feodosii, Longin, and Father Yevhen Koshelnik. Others include journalist Dmytro Skvortsov and lawyer Svitlana Novytska. The UN experts argue these proceedings appear to amount to collective punishment.
They urged a review of Law 3894-IX and the end of trials and administrative measures against clergy, defenders, and journalists.
Signatories to this call are George Katrougalos, Nazila Ghanea, Nicolas Levrat, Ben Saul, and Gina Romero — independent UN mandate-holders serving in their personal capacities.
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