Russia was accused of “cynicism” in the United Nations (UN) Security Council this Tuesday after it convened a meeting to denounce Kiev’s alleged human and religious rights violations of Ukrainian Orthodox citizens.
Speaking at a Security Council meeting convened by Russia on the topic of “Threats to international peace and security”, the chairman of the External Relations Department of the Church of the Patriarchate of Moscow, Volokolamsk Anthony, stated that he was “deeply concerned about the violations of human and constitutional rights of Orthodox believers in Ukraine”.
“Attempts are being made to destroy the Orthodox Church in Ukraine by Ukrainian leaders. (…) Political repression against bishops of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is the culmination of a repressive religious policy of the Ukrainian authorities, the ultimate goal of which is for total control of the religious life of the society by the state, which is unconstitutional”said Anthony, supported by Russia’s ambassador to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya.
However, the Russian statements were promptly refuted and criticized by several ambassadors from Western countries, such as the United Kingdom, France, Albania or the United States, who accused Moscow of cynicism.
“If Russia cared about the rights of Ukrainians, it would not have launched this senseless illegal invasion, an invasion that the Russian Orthodox leader himself supported. Russia is just trying to distract us from its own actions.”argued British diplomat James Kariuki.
France’s permanent representative to the UN, Nicolas de Rivière, said Vasily Nebenzya’s convening of this meeting “is yet another attempt to distract the Security Council, something Moscow has been doing for almost a year.”
“This is yet another cynical attempt at disinformation, disguised by the alleged defense of religious freedom, while Russia itself gave the Ukrainian people no rest during the recent Orthodox festivities”said Riviere.
During the meeting, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Ilze Brands Kehris also took stock of the situation on Ukrainian territory and stated that the Russian armed attack on Ukraine “constituted the most serious forms of human rights violations and international humanitarian law for the daily life of the Ukrainian people”.
Among the series of concerns and violations documented by the UN since the start of this war, Kehris said the organization is “concerned about restrictions on freedom of religion and freedom of association across Ukraine, both in government-controlled territory and in territory occupied by the Russian Federation”.
“While tensions between Orthodox communities in Ukraine have existed for decades, they have worsened following the Russian Federation’s armed attack on Ukraine and there have been some worrying recent developments”he claimed.
According to the UN representative, the Ukrainian security service carried out house searches in November and December in facilities and places of worship of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
At least three clerics face criminal charges, including for treason and denial of Russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine, the assistant secretary-general said.
“We urge the Ukrainian authorities to ensure that such searches of facilities and places of worship are in full compliance with international law, that the right to a fair trial is granted to those facing criminal charges and that any criminal sanctions are consistent with the rights of freedom of opinion, expression and religion,” he stressed.
The military offensive launched by Russia in Ukraine on February 24, 2022 has so far led to the flight of more than 14 million people – 6.5 million internally displaced persons and more than 7.9 million to European countries -, according to the latest data from the UN, which classifies this refugee crisis as the worst in Europe since World War II (1939-1945).
Currently, 17.7 million Ukrainians need humanitarian aid and 9.3 million need food aid and shelter.
The Russian invasion – justified by the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, with the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russian security – was condemned by the international community at large, which responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and Russia political and economic sanctions.
The UN presented 7,031 dead civilians and 11,327 wounded as confirmed since the start of the war, underlining that these numbers are far below the real ones.
Source: DN
