28 October 2015, 15:10
The event took place with the participation of people's deputies, representatives of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches, religious organizations, central executive bodies, Prosecutor General's Office, experts in the field of freedom of conscience and human rights, non-government organizations.
The event was aimed at discussion and elaboration of mechanisms of legislative settlement of a number of urgent issues in the field of freedom of conscience and state-church relations in Ukraine.
Chairperson of the Committee Mykola Kniazhytskyi noted the importance of retention of the principle of partnership as a fundamental for the development of church-state relations and a guarantee of state's stability.
The Chairperson of the subcommittee for state policy in the field of freedom of conscience and religious organizations Viktor Yelenskyi outlined top-priority trends in the improvement of the legal framework in religious sector. He noted that over the period of work of the Verkhovna Rada of the eighth convocation, the dynamics of legislative initiatives grew substantially and the process of improvement of the legal framework intensified in the said field.
The event participants analyzed current status of the state-church relations in 2014-2015. Representatives of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and religious organizations addressed people's deputies requesting to promulgate the information about facts of violation of freedom of conscience on the occupied territories using all opportunities of interparliamentary relations.
The present discussed expediency of adoption of the draft concept of state-church relations, registration of religious communities, necessity for amending and specification of the Law of Ukraine "On mobilization, preparation for mobilization" and "On alternative service," legislative determination of the institution of chaplains, its authorities, specialization.
The discussions triggered the negotiation of the problem of inter-confession transitions raised by people's deputy Vadym Novynskyi.
The event participants pointed out the importance of observance of the Laws of Ukraine during settlement of the issue. People's deputies assured that within its authorities and with all responsibility the Committee controls the retention of legal relations in the field of freedom of conscience.
The people's deputies supported initiative of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and religious organizations to establish a workgroup under the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Culture and Spirituality to remove legislative defects in the field of freedom of conscience and to work on conceptual solutions.