authorities to resort to practices that may well amount to coercion that would impair the freedom
to have or to adopt a religion of one’s choice.
Article 19 of the Constitution guarantees that all people enjoy equal rights, “whatever the ethnic
group or tribe to which they belong” and that “colour, race, language, and the like, do not bestow
any privilege”.15 However, the Constitution omits an explicit provision recognising religion or
belief as a protected characteristic. 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”. Additionally,
Article 23 of the Constitution stipulates that “the investigation of individuals’ beliefs is
forbidden, and no one may be molested or taken to task simply for holding a certain belief.” 16
Many elements of the Iranian domestic legal framework discriminate between Shia Muslims,
Muslim and non-Muslim minorities. According to the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of
Iran, candidates for the presidency must follow the official religion of the State. The same goes
for members of the Assembly of Experts, the Guardian Council or the Expediency Council, thus
excluding Muslim and non-Muslim minorities from holding high governmental positions.17
Further, Article 881 of the Civil Code bars non-Muslims from inheriting property from
Muslims. The Islamic Penal Code (IPC) also prescribes different penalties depending on the
religion of the perpetrator and/or the victim of certain crimes.
Such shortcomings in the legal framework set the structure for the institutional discriminatory
policies and practices in the Islamic Republic of Iran. While Iranian legislation theoretically
forbids the investigation of an individual’s beliefs,18 discrimination regarding the access to
employment is institutionalised through the practice of gozinesh, a mandatory screening process
set forth in the Selection Law based on the Religious and Ethical Standard of 1995.19 As
described by the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of
Iran, the process “involves investigations conducted by the Supreme Selection Council and the
Ministry of Intelligence into the acceptability of an applicant’s beliefs, previous political
opinions and affiliations” and is intended to ensure that applicants “adhere to and have
knowledge of Islam, follow the theory of Velayat-e-faqih (rule of an Islamic jurist under Shia
Islam) and are loyal to the Islamic Republic of Iran.”20 Not only is gozinesh contradicting
Article 23 of the Constitution, it also bars minorities, or anyone who is unable or unwilling to
15
The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, English translation, https://irandataportal.syr.edu/wpcontent/uploads/constitution-english-1368.pdf
16
Ibid.
17
Ibid.
18
Article 23 The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran
http://www.iranchamber.com/government/laws/constitution_ch03.php
19
Amnesty International, 2012, https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/treatybodyexternal/
20
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
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