Key Documents on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church
Statement by the Patriarchate of Jerusalem in Response to Ukraine’s Law Affecting Freedom of Religion
“There is no justification to weaponise religious belief practice and we all must allow those who wish to pray to do so in a manner that accords with their conscience, and we urge the Ukrainian Parliament to reconsider and repeal this law for the sake of the well-being of all people of faith in Ukraine.”
Read statementWorld Council of Churches Statement on Ukraine’s Attack on Religious Freedom
“The WCC is deeply alarmed by the potential for unjustified collective punishment of an entire religious community and violation of the principles of freedom of religion or belief under a new law approved by the Ukrainian Rada on 20 August 2024.”
Read statementPope Francis Condemns Ukraine’s Church Ban Law
His Holiness Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church, issued a statement against Ukraine’s controversial move to approve a law allowing for the ban of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. “Please, let no Christian Church be abolished directly or indirectly. Churches are not to be touched!”
Read statementLetter to President Zelensky Warns of Potential Liability for Crimes against Humanity related to Attack on Church
Robert Amsterdam writes to President Zelensky and shares leaked internal documents showing Ukrainian government involvement in the planning and organization of a campaign to eliminate the existence of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
Download reportAnalysis of Draft Law 8371 by Legal Department of the Ukrainian Rada
On May 3rd, 2024, the lawyers for the Ukrainian Parliament, the Main Legal Department of the Supreme Council of Ukraine (the ‘Legal Department’), provided a legal assessment of Draft Bill 8371(the ‘Law’), a law aiming to ban the religious practices of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (“UOC”). The Rada’s own lawyers determined that the law would violate the ICCPR among other international laws.
Download reportOpen Letter to the President of the United Nations Security Council on Violations of Religious Freedom in Ukraine
On May 22, 2024, Amsterdam & Partners LLP sent the following letter to the current President the United Nations Security Council, detailing illegal attacks on members of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and imploring the UNSC to put the issue on the Council’s agenda for debate and examination.
Download reportSubmission to United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), April 23, 2024
Amsterdam & Partners LLP submitted this filing to the USCIRF, which presents specific evidence of attacks on freedom of religion against the Orthodox community of Ukraine, which meets all criteria for the country to be designated as a Country of Particular Concern by the US State Department.
Ukrainian translation can be downloaded here.
Download reportSubmission to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, April 15, 2024
Amsterdam & Partners LLP submitted this civil society filing on behalf of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church addressed to High Commissioner Volker Turk. Concerning draft legislation 8371, the submission argues that the law “would effectively ban the UOC. Once deprived of legal status in Ukraine, stripped of its property, and forbidden to engage in collective worship, the one of the largest pillars of Orthodoxy in Ukraine will simply be silenced.”
Ukrainian translation can be downloaded here.
Download reportStatement by Department for External Church Relations of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Denouncing Russia’s “Holy War” Ideology
Amsterdam & Partners LLP The leadership of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has been unequivocal in its support of Ukrainian sovereignty and self defense dating back to the very beginning of the conflict. In this statement published on March 27, 2024, the UOC makes a clear denunciation and rejection of claims made by the Russian Orthodox Church.
Download reportStatement by the Church of England against Ukraine’s Persecutory Law Aimed at Banning the UOC
The General Synod of the Church of England published a report titled “The War in Ukraine and the Challenge to International Order” on February 7, 2024. In this report, the Church of England concludes that much of Draft Law 8371 key terms are “vague, lack definition and are open to discriminatory interpretation in ways that violate international norms.”
Download reportReport on Violations of Human Rights and Religious Freedom against UOC Members in Ukraine in 2023
Working with a team of Ukrainian lawyers and researchers, we have compiled close to 300 pages of evidence and testimonies of attacks on freedom of religion against members of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
Download reportLegal Analysis of Draft Law 8371
Accompanying the White Paper, Amsterdam & Partners LLP has published a legal analysis of Draft Law 8371, which identifies all the numerous and varied failings of the bill to meet even the most minimal standards under international law regarding restrictions on religion.
Download Legal AnalysisWhite Paper
The White Paper published by Amsterdam & Partners LLP on the Ukrainian government’s illegal attacks against the UOC can be downloaded below.
Download White PaperUnited Nations Report on the Human Rights Situation in Ukraine 2023
This report issued by OHCHR on March 24, 2023 covers the human rights situation in Ukraine from 1 August 2022 to 31 January 2023. The authors note that the OHCHR is “concerned that the State’s activities targeting the UOC could be discriminatory.” The report also makes clear that “leaders of the UOC criticized the actions of Russian Federation and declared the cutting of organizational ties with the Russian Orthodox Church. These decisions of the UOC were later formalized through changing its charter.”
Download UN ReportDraft Law 8371
On Amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organisations to Establish Restrictions on the Exercise of Freedom to Profess Religion or Beliefs Necessary to Protect Public Safety and Order, Life, Health and Morals, as well as the Rights and Freedoms of Other Citizens’.
DownloadInternational Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
Freedom to manifest one’s religion or beliefs may be subject only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary to protect public safety, order, health, or morals or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others.
DownloadOpen Letter Responding to the Law and Liberty Trust
A report circulating Washington DC published by the Law and Liberty Trust contains deeply misleading and factually inaccurate justifications for the Ukrainian government to indiscriminately ban the UOC and violate religious freedoms. This open letter debunks some of the core claims and reminds lawmakers that the leadership of the UOC is firmly aligned with the national interests of a sovereign Ukraine and has completely separated from the Moscow Patriarchy.
DownloadOpen Letter to President Joe Biden
“There is no conceivable way the prohibition of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is a necessary or proportionate act. Instead, it is an overly punitive attack that will cause serious harm to Orthodox Ukrainians,” Robert Amsterdam writes to President Joe Biden.
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