Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran A/HRC/34/65 para 92 Full recommendation: The Special Rapporteur urges the authorities to recognise that freedom of religion or belief entails the freedom to choose a religion or belief, and that measures restricting eligibility for civil, political, social or economic privileges, or imposing special restrictions on the practice of other faiths, violate the prohibition of discrimination based on religion or belief and the guarantee of equal protection under article 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Assessment using Impact Iran human rights indicators1 The Iranian legal framework does not adequately protect the right to freedom of religion or belief, including the right to have or to adopt a religion of one’s own choice. The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran names the Twelver Ja’fari School of Shia Islam as the state religion and stipulates that “other Islamic schools are to be accorded full respect, and their followers are free to act in accordance with their own jurisprudence in performing their religious rites” (Article 12).2 Article 13 of the Constitution provides that the Zoroastrian, Jewish, and Christian Iranians “are the only recognised religious minorities” under Iranian law. Because there are no laws safeguarding the right of religious minorities to worship, or maintain places of worship or assembly, the structural exclusion of other religious minorities leaves them without legal protection to manifest and practice their religion or belief. Religious minorities recognised under Articles 12 and 13 of the Constitution have very few places of worship for the number of members they have. Sunnis are not allowed to build new mosques in major cities, including Tehran. In addition, a number of Sunni religious seminaries have been destroyed by the government3 and authorities have reportedly been closing Sunni mosques or preventing Sunnis from gathering for congregational prayers.4 Only 1% of religious 1 CCPR.18.1.S.1; CCPR.18.1.S.2; CCPR.18.1.S.3; CCPR.18.1.S.4; CCPR.18.1.S.5; CCPR.26.1.S.1; CCPR.27.1.S.1; CCPR.27.2.S.1; CCPR.18.1.P.1; CCPR.18.1.P.2; CCPR.18.1.P.3; CCPR.18.1.P.4; CCPR.18.1.P.5; CCPR.18.3.P.1; CCPR.26.1.P.1; CCPR.27.1.P.1; CCPR.27.2.P.1; CCPR.27.1.P.2; CCPR.18.1.O.2; CCPR.18.1.O.3; CCPR.18.1.O.4; CCPR.18.1.O.5; CCPR.18.1.O.6; CCPR.18.1.O.7; CCPR.18.1.O.8; CCPR.18.1.O.10; CCPR.18.1.O.14; CCPR.18.2.O.1; CCPR.18.2.O.2; CCPR.18.3.O.1; CCPR.18.3.O.2; CCPR.26.1.O.1; CCPR.27.1.O.2; CCPR.27.2.O.2; CCPR.27.2.O.3 2 The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, English translation, https://irandataportal.syr.edu/wpcontent/uploads/constitution-english-1368.pdf 3 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 Documentation 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 4 Rights Denied: Violations against ethnic and religious minorities in Iran, https://minorityrights.org/wpcontent/uploads/2018/03/Rights-Denied-Violations-against-ethnic-and-religious-minorities-in-Iran.pdf 1

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