Council of Churches Points to Defects of Law on Protection of Personal Information

According to representatives of цhurches and religious organizations, the Law of Ukraine on Protection of Personal Information and the practice of its application should not violate rights of people to freedom of confession or specify their attitude toward religion.

This joint position was developed by the Secretariat of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations (AUCCRO) at its session on March 13 in the building of the Patriarchate of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC) held under the chairmanship of Bishop Volodymyr (Cherpak), reported the Institute for Religious Freedom (IRF).

The representatives of the denominations decided to prepare amendments to Article 7 of the law in order to prevent misuse and requirement to register information of religious organizations regarding religious beliefs of individual citizens.

The participants also considered Bill 8792 on Pilgrimage submitted by a deputy, Serhii Tereshchuk, representing the People’s Party. According to the Secretariat, the initiative includes many substantial defects which can lead to the deterioration and even disappearance of pilgrimage as a line of religious activity in Ukraine. The participants decided to ask the author of the bill and the specialized committee to revoke or withdraw it from consideration.

The Secretariat also considered organizational questions of foreign trips of the delegation of the AUCCRO.