and discriminatory practices and denial of employment and restrictions on access to education
and other basic services.11
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.”12 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.” While the government does not
consider the existence of ethnic minorities in Iran,13 Arabs, Azerbaijani Turks, Baluchis and
Kurds face targeted discrimination on the basis of their identity and are generally sidelined from
general public services, including education and health care.
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.14
Furthermore, Kurdish language teachers have been facing harassment and persecution.15
In 2018, prison data showed that at least three quarters of Iran’s political prisoners are from
ethnic minorities.16 Current statistics from the NGO United for Iran indicate that a majority of
current prisoners of consciences are Kurds.17 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 marginalised 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
11
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
12
The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, English translation, https://irandataportal.syr.edu/wpcontent/uploads/constitution-english-1368.pdf
13
At its Universal Periodic Review in 2019, the Government stated that « All ethnic groups constitute part and parcel of the
Iranian nation and no one is considered as ethnic minority”, Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic review,
2019, https://undocs.org/en/A/HRC/43/12/Add.1
14
Minority Groups, https://minorityrights.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Rights-Denied-Violations-against-ethnic-andreligious-minorities-in-Iran.pdf
15
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
16
Minority Groups, https://minorityrights.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Rights-Denied-Violations-against-ethnic-andreligious-minorities-in-Iran.pdf
17
United for Iran, https://ipa.united4iran.org/en/prisoner/
3