Canada’s Ambassador for Religious Freedom visits Ukraine

Andrew Bennett, Canada’s Ambassador for Religious Freedom, finishes his visit to Ukraine. During the visit Ambassador Bennett visited Kyiv and now stays in Lviv, where he meets with government officials, religious leaders and civil society leaders.

“We stand with the people of Ukraine as they seek to build a peaceful, democratic and prosperous future in which the right to religious freedom is fully enjoyed by all.

‘‘The Ukrainian people continue to show resilience, courage and commitment to building a more pluralist, peaceful, democratic and prosperous future while their country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity continues to be threatened by Russian aggression,’’ noted Ambassador.

He had meetings with Ukrainian-Catholic Bishops Bohdan Dziurakh and Josyf Milyan, Metropolitan Anthony (Pakanych) of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate, archbishop Yevstratiy (Zorya) of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Kyiv Patriarchate, Grand Mufti Sheikh Akhmed Tamim, Ukrainian prime minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and other government officials as well as representatives of civil society initiatives and Crimean Tatars leaders.

Ambassador Bennett also announced two projects to be supported by the Religious Freedom Fund in Ukraine.

The Office of Religious Freedom is partnering with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe through its Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights to increase awareness of international standards on freedom of religion or belief, to prevent and respond to hate crimes, and to facilitate multi-community dialogue on FoRB issues.

The Office is also partnering with the Catholic Near East Welfare Association to educate and promote understanding among the many diverse ethnic and civil communities in different regions of Ukraine.