Information websites of the UOC-MP (MP) and their related media have spread the false information that Ukraine was criticized for violating the rights of the UOC (MP) on the November 15 UN session in Geneva.
Information websites of the UOC-MP (MP) and their related media have spread the false information that Ukraine was criticized for violating the rights of the UOC (MP) on the November 15 UN session in Geneva.
This was stated by Andrey Yurash, Director of the Department for Religious Affairs and Nationalities of the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine, in a commentary to RISU.
“No foreign delegation had any claims to Ukraine for the alleged violation of religious rights, and nobody requested anything from our state,” he said.
Andriy Yurash personally participated in the meetings of the Working Group of the Universal Periodic Review of the 28th session of the UN Human Rights Council and made a statement there.
According to him, the official Ukrainian delegation in Geneva was represented by the staff of various ministries, the Prosecutor General's Office, the National Police. The UOC-MP clergymen were not on this list.
77 UN member states participated in the discussion of the report submitted by Ukraine. In speeches, participants often voiced problems of ensuring the rights of national minorities, children, displaced persons. It was also about the spread of Islamophobic attitudes, the problems of the Roma people, people of African descent. Russia and Greece touched upon religious issues in their speeches.
“Greece appealed to Ukraine to pay attention to ensuring the rights of religious and national minorities and stressed the need to respect the internal regulations of every religious organization,” says Yuraish. – “This is an absolutely universal statement we fully agree with. And again, the Russian delegation reiterated its overall willingness to ensure the rights of religious organizations. These are two points that were voiced during the 3.5-hour discussion. No specifics.”
Andriy Yurash notes that the UOC (MP) was not even mentioned the speeches.
“Therefore, after the successful speeches made by the Ukrainian delegation, after the congratulations from the Vice-President of the meeting, to the UN secretariat, I saw publications in the church media that allegedly there was a conviction of the Ukrainian state for some violation of the rights of believers and religious freedoms, I realized that we have the case with an outright, cynical, insidious pro-Russian provocation committed by two representatives of the UOJ who were present as guests at this meeting. All that was done by them, can be considered an element of a broader technology of hybrid war and campaign against Ukraine,” said the Department director.
Yurash also noted that last year the Russian delegation tried to deny that the rights of the UOC (MP) were allegedly violated in Ukraine, they are being deprived of their churches. When the Ukrainian delegation explained that in this case it was a question of free expression of religious feelings and the voluntary desire of believers to change their denominational affiliation, this question was automatically removed from the agenda.
"I reiterate: no delegation spoke about persecution of the UOC-MP or violation of their rights. This is the manipulation and an absolute classical pro-Russian and anti-Ukrainian fake,” he said,
As it was previously reported, on November 15, the official website of the UOC (MP) reported that “the UN recognized the issue of respect for religious freedoms in Ukraine.”
Photos from the website of the Ministry of Culture