An audio recording has entered public circulation in which OSCE Secretary General Feridun H. Sinirlioğlu, believing he is speaking with the Prime Minister of Armenia, discusses matters related to the internal life of the Holy Armenian Apostolic Church and the removal of the Catholicos of All Armenians.

In the published recording, statements are attributed to the OSCE Secretary General expressing willingness to support the replacement of the Catholicos of All Armenians. If the authenticity of the recording is confirmed, it raises serious questions regarding the impartiality and independence of the OSCE Secretary General, as well as his commitment to the core values of the organization.

It is clear that the election and tenure of the Catholicos of All Armenians are exclusively matters within the internal ecclesiastical and canonical jurisdiction of the Holy Armenian Apostolic Church. These matters cannot be decided by any state authority, political force, foreign official, or international organization.

Therefore, steps taken by any authority to replace the head of the Church or to interfere in the internal life of the Church cannot be perceived as ordinary political discussion. Such actions strike a blow to the autonomy of the religious community and must be viewed as unacceptable external interference.

If the published recording is authentic and has not been significantly altered, the words attributed to the OSCE Secretary General create a strong impression that the organization’s highest official is ready to assist state authorities in replacing the leader of a religious community. Even if it is later claimed that the conversation was private or that the remarks had no practical consequences, this circumstance in itself does not dispel the reasonable doubts raised regarding impartiality and independence.

OSCE documents explicitly recognize freedom of religion or belief and the internal autonomy of religious communities. Principle VII of the 1975 Helsinki Final Act affirms respect for freedom of thought, conscience, religion, and belief.

Even more concrete is paragraph 16.4 of the 1989 Vienna Concluding Document, by which participating states committed to respect the right of religious communities to organize themselves according to their own hierarchical and institutional structure, as well as to select, appoint, and replace their personnel in accordance with their own requirements and standards. This provision effectively means that the selection or replacement of religious community leaders must be carried out in accordance with the internal rules of that specific community, rather than by an external political decision.

The same principles are reinforced in the 1990 Copenhagen Document and OSCE Ministerial Council Decision No. 3/13 on freedom of religion or belief.

The principle of autonomy for religious organizations is also enshrined in the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights. The Court has repeatedly emphasized that the autonomous existence of a religious community is an essential component of pluralism in a democratic society, and that the state must act as a neutral and impartial organizer in religious matters.

A state showing preference to any side in matters of religious community leadership, imposing a specific leadership on the community, or determining the outcome of an internal church dispute through political means contradicts the standards of religious freedom protected under Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

We expect the OSCE to provide an exhaustive and credible clarification regarding the published material, ensure an independent verification of the recording, and, if necessary, conduct an impartial investigation into the Secretary General’s conduct.

The reputation of the OSCE is built on human rights, freedom of religion, impartiality, and trust. Therefore, the willingness attributed to the organization’s highest official to facilitate the replacement of a religious community’s leader cannot remain unaddressed.

The internal life of the Holy Armenian Apostolic Church is not a field for political transactions or external interference. The election and tenure of its spiritual leader are matters of the canonical jurisdiction of the Armenian Church, and respecting this jurisdiction is not only an ecclesiastical requirement but also a fundamental standard of the international legal and democratic order.