Ukraine: Religious Freedom

(asked on 8th June 2020) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the level of freedom of religion or belief in the (a) Donetsk People’s Republic and (b) Luhansk People’s Republic in eastern Ukraine.


Answered by
Wendy Morton Portrait
Wendy Morton
This question was answered on 15th June 2020

The Government is deeply concerned about violations of Freedom of Religion or Belief in many parts of the world. It is a universal human right for all people to be able to practise their faith or belief without fear or discrimination. This is an issue that the UK has long championed, including through the Prime Minister's appointment of Rehman Chishti MP as his Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief. In the self-proclaimed "Donetsk People's Republic" and "Luhansk People's Republic" in eastern Ukraine, we are extremely concerned by reports of such infringements including the seizing and sealing of churches and other places of worship, forced cancellation of services and arrests and harassment of clergy.

This is part of a wider pattern of human rights violations and abuses perpetrated by Russia's proxies in the non-government controlled areas of eastern Ukraine. We continue to call on Russia to use its considerable influence over them to ensure respect for all international human rights, to fully implement recommendations contained in the reports of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and grant unhindered access for international humanitarian organisations.

Reticulating Splines