community reported the denial of public sector jobs through the application of gozinesh
requirements. 23 24
Reports have shown that religious minorities in the Islamic Republic of Iran face human
rights violations such as arbitrary deprivation of life and extrajudicial executions, a
disproportionate number of executions on national security-related charges; arbitrary arrests
and detention in connection with range of peaceful activities, incitement to hatred, forced
closure of businesses and discriminatory practices and denial of employment and restrictions
on access to education and other basic services.25 A new rule proclaimed in January 2020,
will only allow citizens to register as one of the country’s recognized religions to the stateissued National Identity Card—which is required for almost all government and other
transactions. 26
While it is technically possible to file discrimination complaints with the Administration
of Justice Court, the Article 90 Commission in the parliament, and the Oversight Bodies for
the exercise of Citizenship Rights in the country’s provincial courts, there is no evidence
that judicial actions are taken in response to complaints.27 Hate crimes, such as motivated
killings and desecration of cemeteries, particularly against Baha’is, have not been investigated
by the Iranian authorities.28 29
In the context of a State that considers itself Shia by law, such measures imposing restrictions
on the basis of religion or belief may well amount in practice to coercion to renounce or to
convert to a minority faith and as such are incompatible with the prohibition of discrimination
based on religion or belief under Article 18 of the Covenant. The Human Rights Committee
stipulated that the “recognition of a religion as a State religion should not result in any
impairment of the enjoyment of any of the rights under Article 18, nor in any discrimination
against adherents of other religions or non-believers, since the right to freedom of religion and
belief and the prohibition of discrimination do not depend on the recognition as an official
religion or belief”. 30 Iranian penal sanctions, policies and practices instituted against religious
23
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, 18 July 2019,
https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N19/222/62/PDF/N1922262.pdf?OpenElement
24
Center for Human Rights in Iran, https://www.iranhumanrights.org/2017/05/most-yarsani-religious-minority-candidatesdisqualified-from-irans-2017-councils-elections/
25
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, 18 July 2019,
https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N19/222/62/PDF/N1922262.pdf?OpenElement
26
Center for Human Rights in Iran, https://www.iranhumanrights.org/2020/01/bahais-unrecognized-minorities-in-iran-mustnow-hide-religion-to-obtain-government-id/
27
Joint submission to the Human Rights Committee from All Human Rights for All in Iran, Association for Human Rights in
Kurdistan – Geneva, Association for the Human Rights of the Azerbaijani People in Iran, Iran Human Rights Documenttion
Center, OutRight International, Siamak Pourzand Foundation, Small Media, Impact Iran, 2020,
https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CCPR/Shared%20Documents/IRN/INT_CCPR_NGO_IRN_42317_E.pdf
28
Joint submission to the Human Rights Committee from All Human Rights for All in Iran, Association for Human Rights in
Kurdistan – Geneva, Association for the Human Rights of the Azerbaijani People in Iran, Iran Human Rights Documenttion
Center, OutRight International, Siamak Pourzand Foundation, Small Media, Impact Iran, 2020,
https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CCPR/Shared%20Documents/IRN/INT_CCPR_NGO_IRN_42317_E.pdf
29
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, 18 July 2019,
https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N19/222/62/PDF/N1922262.pdf?OpenElement
30
Human Rights Committee Concluding Observations, 3 August 1993, CCPR/C/79/Add.25
https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CCPR%2fC%2f79%2fAdd.25&Lang
=en
4