any privilege”.19 Article 20 of the Constitution states that “All citizens of the country, both men
and women, equally enjoy the protection of the law and enjoy all human, political, economic,
social, and cultural rights, in conformity with Islamic criteria”.
For instance, the use of minority languages is effectively restricted under the Constitution,
notably in school where the teaching of a minority language is only permitted for literature
classes. The Ministry of Education has reportedly circulated reminders to teachers and school
administrators that the use of Kurdish and Turkish languages inside public schools is forbidden.20
Furthermore, Kurdish language teachers have faced harassment and persecution.21
Additionally, ethnic minorities are widely underrepresented in public affairs. For instance, no
province governor belongs to an ethnic minority. None of the provinces that are populated in
majority by minority groups, like Kurdistan, Sistan-and-Balochistan, Golestan, East and West
Azerbaidjan, are run by a person belonging to that minority.22 Furthermore, provinces in Iran that
are predominantly inhabited by ethnic minorities, such as Khuzestan with a majority of Awhazi
Arabs, or Sistan-Baluchestan with a majority of Baluchis, are generally underdeveloped with a
significant part of their population living under the poverty line.23
In 2018, prison data showed that at least three quarters of Iran’s political prisoners are from
ethnic minorities.24 Current statistics from the NGO United for Iran indicate that a majority of
current prisoners of consciences are Kurds.25 Ethnic minorities, especially Kurds and Baluchis,
are over-represented in death penalty statistics. Many of the offenses carrying the death penalty,
in particular drug-related offenses and national security offenses, are among the charges most
commonly used to target and convict minorities. Impoverished and marginalized minorities have
been over-represented among those executed for drug offenses. Additionally, Kurdish political
prisoners charged with national security offences represent almost half of the total number of
political prisoners. Overall, half of those executed for affiliation with a political party or a
banned group between 2010 and 2018 were Kurds, while a quarter were Baluchis and over onetenth Arabs. There have also been serious concerns over the secret executions of Ahwazi Arab
19
The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, English translation, https://irandataportal.syr.edu/wpcontent/uploads/constitution-english-1368.pdf
20
Minority Groups, https://minorityrights.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Rights-Denied-Violations-against-ethnic-andreligious-minorities-in-Iran.pdf
21
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
22
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
23
Minority Groups, https://minorityrights.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Rights-Denied-Violations-against-ethnic-andreligious-minorities-in-Iran.pdf
24
Minority Groups, https://minorityrights.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Rights-Denied-Violations-against-ethnic-andreligious-minorities-in-Iran.pdf
25
United for Iran, https://ipa.united4iran.org/en/prisoner/
4