assembly, the structural exclusion of other religious minorities leaves them without legal protection to manifest and practice their religion or belief.26 This effectively puts these communities, including children, at greater risk of discrimination, violence and persecution. 27 28 Additionally, while Article 14 of the Constitution states that the government and Muslims are “duty-bound to treat non-Muslims in conformity with ethical norms and the principles of Islamic justice and equity, and to respect their human rights.”29, it adds that “This principle applies to all who refrain from engaging in conspiracy or activity against Islam and the Islamic Republic of Iran”30, a charge that is often levelled against individuals from linguistic and ethnic minorities when peacefully practicing their religion or other activities.31 This exclusion and the condition of “conformity” with the Islamic criteria results with the legal discrimination and persecution of religious minorities, as well as members of linguistic and ethnic groups, including children.32 33 34 Members of the Baloch minority, estimated to be between 2 and 3 million,35 speak the Baluchi language with a majority being Sunni Muslim. Arabs in Iran represent up to 5 million individuals in Iran,36 a significant minority being Sunni Muslim. Similarly, Kurds, estimated between 8 and 10 million37 have a majority Sunni Muslim and include a minority Yarsanis. 38 As a consequence, these communities face intersectional discrimination, based on their ethnicity and language as well as religion. In 2016, the Iranian High Council for Human Rights issued a booklet entitled “Some measures taken by the Islamic Republic of Iran on demands of ethnic groups, religious minorities and 26 The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, General Principles (Chapter I, Articles 1, 2 and 12): http://www.iranchamber.com/government/laws/constitution.php 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 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 28 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 29 The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, General Principles (Chapter I, Article 14): http://www.iranchamber.com/government/laws/constitution.php 30 Ibid. 31 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 32 Ibid. 33 Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, January 2020, https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/IR/Report_of_the_Special_Rapporteur_on_the_situation_of_human_rights_in_the_ Islamic_Republic_of_IranA4361.pdf 34 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 35 Taheri, A., The Baloch in Post Islamic Revolution Iran: A Political Study, University of Pune 2012, p. 24. 36 Human Rights Watch, https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/04/29/iran-sweeping-arrests-ahwazi-arab-activists 37 UNPO, https://unpo.org/members/7882 38 Minority Rights Group, https://minorityrights.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Rights-Denied-Violations-against-ethnic-andreligious-minorities-in-Iran.pdf 4