On freedom of religion, Poland remembers the mistakes of the past as it watches the horrors of the present

Since Feb. 24, 2022, when Russia started its unjustified and unprovoked aggression against Ukraine, we have witnessed appalling scenes of harm, pain, and suffering inflicted on hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians for days on end. The tragic loss of millions of civilian refugees, mostly women and children, and the enormity of damage and destruction caused by the war bring to mind the darkest periods in contemporary history of Europe and the world. Russian aggression has created infinite havoc. Fully pre-meditated acts of war target non-military objects, including sites of Ukraine’s cultural heritage and religious worship. The burning buildings at the Holy Mountains Lavra (Sviatohirsk Lavra) in Donetsk Oblast, a monastery in the east of the country, are among the symbols of this barbarity. The Lavra is a vitally important A temple at the Sviatohirsk Lavra burns after a Russian strike on June 4. Screenshot courtesy of Twitter place of worship in Orthodox Christianity. Its earliest mentions date back to the 17th Century. With the onset of the Russian invasion, the Lavra became a shelter for civilians, including pilgrims and members of the clergy, seniors, persons with disabilities, and children. This did not prevent Russian troops from brutally shelling the monastery. The attack wreaked damage on a number of its buildings. The Skete of All Saints, Ukraine’s largest wooden church, built in the early 20th Century, was burnt to the ground. The Holy Mountains Lavra (Sviatohirsk Lavra) is just one of numerous distressing illustrations of the Russians’ pursuit to destroy Ukraine’s places of religious worship. However, attacks have also been mounted on the Islamic cultural centre in Sievierodonetsk. Cemeteries and remembrance sites have shared the same fate. Among the destroyed and desecrated are burial grounds and memorials for World War II. Ukrainians of all creeds and ethnic origins are faced with brutal annihilation of places commemorating their identity and beliefs. Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau writes that Russia's persecution of religious minorities in Ukraine and Crimea are reminiscent of Europe's darkest days in history. Photograph courtesy of the Republic of Poland We must bear in mind that Russian repression of religious minorities in Ukraine began long before the ongoing invasion. Since Russia illegally annexed Crimea in 2014, particularly harsh discrimination based on religion or belief has been brought down on the peninsula’s native Crimean Tatars. Their rights and freedoms have since been systematically violated by the occupying Russian authorities. There have been cases of people being taken into custody, deprived of their right to a fair trial, and imprisoned for political reasons, or accused of extremism or terrorism based on their ethnic and religious identity. Tatar organizations, such as their representative assembly, the Mejlis, have been outlawed and their members repressed. Persecution and harassment have been extended to representatives of other religious minorities in occupied Crimea, such as Jehovah’s Witnesses and Protestants. Religious persecution has been ongoing in different regions of the world where conflicts are fuelled by religious fundamentalism and ethnic hatred. Openly violent acts are commonplace; in Owo in south-west Nigeria, some 40 people were killed in a bloody assault on St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church on Pentecost Sunday, June 5. Systemic persecution of religious groups is another issue, as exemplified by the situation in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, or violence against the Yazidis displayed by Islamic terrorists in Iraq. Freedom of religion or belief is a fundamental human right. At its core lies the freedom to practise the religion of one’s choice, to change one’s denomination, or to follow no religion at all, as well as the right to manifest one’s religious beliefs. This human right is both universal and inalienable; everyone is entitled to it and no-one can be forced to adopt or reject certain religious beliefs. No person should be discriminated against due to what they believe in. Promoting freedom of religion or belief is an important objective of Poland’s foreign policy on human rights. It was on Poland’s initiative that the UN General Assembly resolved in 2019 to designate Aug. 22 as the International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief. To implement this initiative, Poland has partnered with countries that have made it a priority to speak up for freedom of religion or belief. The United Kingdom has been among our closest collaborators in this regard. Along with the United States, our two countries have hosted annual global international conferences on freedom of religion or belief; launched in 2019, the events have gathered representatives of governments, civil society, and leaders of various faiths. These issues are particularly sensitive to us Poles. We remember World War II and what happened on our soil at that time. We want the world to learn from its mistakes; we want to prevent such tragedies from happening again. I believe that our shared effort, both local and international, will get us to that goal, so that we never again have to look at images similar to those of the Holy Mountains Lavra (Sviatohirsk Lavra) on fire. Zbigniew Rau has been Poland's Minister of Foreign Affairs since Aug. 26, 2020. The Hill Times