Baha'i news: Iran's human rights record condemned by United Nations

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Iran's human rights record condemned by United Nations

UNITED NATIONS, 21 December 2010 (BWNS) – In a vote today, the United 
Nations once again strongly condemned Iran for failing to live up to 
international human rights standards.

By a vote of 78 to 45, with 59 abstentions, the UN General Assembly 
confirmed a resolution that expressed “deep concern at serious 
ongoing and recurring human rights violations.” In more than two 
decades of such resolutions about Iran, the vote passed with one of 
the highest percentages ever.

The resolution specifically expressed concern over Iran’s 
“intensified crackdown on human rights defenders and reports of 
excessive use of force, arbitrary detentions, unfair trials and 
allegations of torture,” as well as its “pervasive gender inequality 
and violence against women,” and its discrimination against 
minorities, including members of the Baha’i Faith.

“The world community has clearly spoken. It is outraged at Iran’s 
continued and intensifying violations of human rights,” said Bani 
Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha’i International 
Community to the United Nations. 

Welcoming the result Ms. Dugal noted that the resolution documents a 
wide range of violations, from torture to the oppression of women to 
the persecution of minorities. “All of this has been going on for too 
long, and it is high time that Iran pays heed to the call of the 
international community and complies with the standards of 
international law,” she said.

The resolution devoted an entire paragraph to Iran’s treatment of 
members of the Baha’i Faith, cataloging an extensive list of recent 
anti-Baha’i activities. These included: “increasing evidence of 
efforts by the State to identify, monitor and arbitrarily detain 
Baha’is, preventing members of the Baha’i faith from attending 
university and from sustaining themselves economically, the 
confiscation and destruction of their property, and the vandalizing 
of their cemeteries…” 

It also expressed concern over the recent trial and sentencing of 
seven Baha’i leaders, saying they were “repeatedly denied the due 
process of law.”


Worldwide condemnation

The UN vote has coincided with a renewed protest – from numerous 
governments, organizations and prominent individuals – at the 
persecution of Iran’s Baha’is.

In a statement dated 17 December, Canada’s Minister of Foreign 
Affairs, the Honorable Lawrence Cannon, reiterated his country’s deep 
concern at the “ongoing failure of the Iranian authorities to meet 
their domestic and international legal obligations.” 

“The Government of Canada stands firmly with the people of Iran 
against human rights abuses and discrimination, as well as ill 
treatment of women and minorities,” said Mr. Cannon.  

A number of India’s prominent citizens have also recently called upon 
Iran to respect its minorities. Among them, former Deputy Prime 
Minister, L. K. Advani, appealed for justice for the seven imprisoned 
Baha’i leaders. “The attitude of a country and a nation towards 
minority religion is the touchstone of how civilized a country it 
is,” he said on 17 December. 

In a debate on freedom of religion in Germany's Parliament, held on 
17 December, members of Parliament spoke out on the situation of 
Baha’is in Iran. Christoph Strässer MP – human rights policy 
spokesman for the Social Democrats - noted that the Baha’i community, 
"ever since it was founded, has been dedicated to peace and 
tolerance..." 

Street campaigns about the human rights situation in Iran have been 
held in the German cities of Frankfurt, Wiesbaden, Mainz and 
Taunusstein.

“We have gathered here to protest the alarming situation of Baha’is, 
of human rights in general and the climate of fear that exists for 
Baha'is, for women, for youth, for bloggers, for journalists,” said 
Omid Nouripour, MP for Frankfurt, speaking at the event in the city, 
“and we raise our voices to show the world that the people of Iran 
need our help.” 

Christian Solidarity Worldwide has also called for the release of the 
Baha’i prisoners. “Clearly the seven Baha’i leaders are being held 
solely on account of their faith,” said CSW’s Advocacy Director 
Andrew Johnston on 10 December, “and this contravenes Iran’s 
international legal obligations.” 

In Australia’s parliament last month, members specifically referred 
to Iran’s discrimination against, and failure to protect the rights 
of, minorities - including the Baha’i, Sufi, Baluch, and Kurdish 
communities - as well as the trial and sentencing of the seven Baha’i 
leaders.

Reports of the 10-year jail terms previously provoked a chorus of 
condemnation from governments around the world - including Australia, 
Canada, France, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the 
United Kingdom and the United States. The European Union and the 
President of the European Parliament also joined the protest, along 
with numerous human rights organizations, other groups and countless 
individuals. 

In its annual International Religious Freedom Report, published in 
November, the United States Department of State  reported  that the 
Iranian government’s respect for religious freedom has continued to 
deteriorate, creating a “threatening atmosphere for nearly all 
non-Shi’a religious groups, most notably for Baha'is.” 

“The U.S. government has publicly condemned the treatment of the 
Baha’is in UN resolutions,” said the report.

The most recent United Nations resolution was put forward by 42 
co-sponsors and approved in a preliminary form in November by a 
committee of the General Assembly, also by an overwhelming vote 
against Iran. 



To read the article online and see photographs, go to:
http://news.bahai.org/story/803