religious education” as long as it is “within the framework of the law”.44 On the other hand, there are no laws protecting the right of unrecognized religious minorities to ensure the religious moral education of their children in conformity with their own convictions. The Ministry of Education determines the religious curricula of public schools, which must all include a course on Shia Islamic teachings. All curricula must include a course on Shia Islamic teaching although Sunnis and members from recognized religious minorities may take separate courses on their religious beliefs. While pupils from recognized minority faiths have access to religious instruction designed by members of their religious communities (but approved by the Ministry of Education), those from unrecognized faiths are obliged to study only Shia Islam.45 In 2017, children of parents and guardians from the Christian minority have reportedly been threatened to be expelled from their school if they refused to study Shia Islam.46 Teachings of Sunni religion in some public schools has reportedly been banned, even those located in predominantly Sunni areas.47 Yet, the Human Rights Committee has noted that “public education that includes instruction in a particular religion or belief is inconsistent with article 18.4 unless provision is made for non-discriminatory exemptions or alternatives that would accommodate the wishes of parents and guardians”.48 Such imposition of Shia Islam education as exemplified above is therefore inconsistent with the ICCPR. Article 8 of the Charter of the Citizen’s rights stipulates that “The Government shall refrain from adopting any decision and taking any action that leads to the widening of the class divide, undue discrimination or deprivation of citizen’s rights” including in the context of educational opportunities. Additionally, during its last UPR review session the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran affirmed that minorities were free to choose their schools.49 Yet, following a new ministry initiative entitled Project Mehr, the Minister of Education Mohsen Haji-Mirzaei announced on September 11th, 2019 that “If students say that they follow a faith other than the country’s official religions and this is seen as proselytizing, they cannot continue attending school”.50 The project would give to schools increased authority to deny education to religious minorities students. In July 2020, a secondary school student was reportedly expelled from their school after mentioning they were a member of the Baha’i faith.51 44 The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran English translation, http://www.iranchamber.com/government/laws/constitution_ch01.php 45 2019 Report on International Religious Freedom: Iran, U.S. Department of State, https://www.state.gov/reports/2019report-on-international-religious-freedom/iran/ 46 Christian Solidarity Worldwide, http://www.csw.org.uk/2017/09/07/news/3694/article.html 47 2019 Report on International Religious Freedom: Iran, U.S. Department of State, https://www.state.gov/reports/2019report-on-international-religious-freedom/iran/ 48 UN Human Rights Committee (HRC), CCPR General Comment No. 22: Article 18 (Freedom of Thought, Conscience or Religion), 30 July 1993, CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.4, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/453883fb22.html 49 Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review Islamic Republic of Iran, 27 December 2019, https://undocs.org/A/HRC/43/12 50 Iran Wire, 2019, https://iranwire.com/en/features/6303 51 Center for Human Rights in Iran, 2020, https://www.iranhumanrights.org/2020/07/bahai-youth-expelled-from-secondaryschool-for-gifted-students-solely-due-to-his-faith/ 7