UOC and Moldovan Hierarchs Raise Alarms Over Rights Violations at UN Minority Forum

U.N. Forum on Minority Issues. Photo: Public Advocacy

GENEVA — Met. Theodosiy of Cherkasy and Kaniv participated in the 18th Session of the UN Forum on Minority Issues on Nov. 27–28, submitting a video address and written statement detailing what he described as systemic violations of the rights of Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) believers. He highlighted recent findings by UN Special Rapporteurs and accused Ukrainian authorities of church seizures, arrests, and discriminatory mobilization laws that leave clergy vulnerable to being drafted and killed at the front. 

As reported by Public Advocacy, the Forum — chaired by Lebanon’s Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, Caroline Ziadeh — recorded more than 900 participants this year, the highest since its establishment in 2007. UOC representatives said international engagement through UN mechanisms can help secure decisions affecting Ukraine’s legal and law-enforcement systems, and that noncompliance by state institutions exposes deeper rule-of-law failures.

"The parliament has adopted a law banning our confession," Met. Theodosiy said. "There are hundreds of violent and bloody seizures of our churches throughout the country, arrests are made and criminal cases are opened against clergy and ordinary believers. What is even more terrible is that the priests of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church are literally deprived of life by the Ukrainian authorities. How is it done? In Ukraine, a special discriminatory legislation that prohibits our Church from issuing a deferment from mobilization for its priests, unlike other denominations that have the right to full exemption from the army."

This address came a day before reports that Met. Theodosiy had fallen ill, with UOJ sources sharing their suspicion that he was poisoned.

Also speaking at the Forum, Abp. Markell Mihaescu of Bălți and Fălești of the Orthodox Church of Moldova voiced concern over Moldovan President Maia Sandu’s July 30 designation of the Church as a “tool of Russian interference.” He called the labeling an unprecedented act of state hostility, arguing such rhetoric violates legal standards and threatens religious freedom as Moldova seeks closer alignment with the EU.

International human rights groups — including Public Advocacy and the Alliance “Church Against Xenophobia and Discrimination” — publicly supported both hierarchs. Representatives said they are submitting detailed reports to UN bodies, assisting clergy facing restrictions, and preparing documentation ahead of Moldova’s 2026 review by the UN Human Rights Committee. They noted that similar UN findings on UOC rights violations have already influenced legal processes in Ukraine and may guide future rulings concerning Moldova.

The 18th Session of the Forum brought together UN member states, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues Nicholas Levrat, and global civil society organizations.

Previously, UOJ reported that UN experts warned Ukraine over religious freedom violations against the UOC.

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