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Sunnis from gathering for congregational prayers. 4 Only 1% of religious temples in Iran are nonMuslim.5 In Tehran, there are about 15 churches for 43,987 Christians (one church every 2932 Christians).6 In 2019, reports of the closure by government authorities of a 100-year-old Christian church in Tabriz surfaced.7 The shortage of official places of worship forces religious minorities to gather in informal assemblies inside their own home, frequently termed “house churches”, 8 or in underground prayer halls (namaz khane)9, which often get dismantled by Iranian authorities. 10 House churches are often being raided by the government on the basis that they do not hold necessary permits from the authorities. Attendees are arrested and imprisoned on charges of “acting against national security by organizing and conducting house-churches” or “propaganda against the state and insulting the sacred Iranian establishment”. 11 The end of 2018 and 2019 saw an unprecedented wave of raids on private house gatherings related to religion or belief, leading to a large number of arrests detention and imprisonment.12 Charges include “breaching national security” or “propaganda against the holy regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran”.13 The Baha’i faith, with members numbering an estimated 350,000 14 in Iran, is not recognized under Iranian law and does not have any official place of worship. Since August 2005, more than 1,253 Baha’ís have been arrested in Iran solely based on their religious beliefs, notably on charges of proselytizing the Baha’i faith. 15 16 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 5 Based on Province annual data reports, as of 2018. 6 Based on Province annual data reports, as of 2018. 7 https://www.newsweek.com/iran-agents-storm-church-tear-down-cross-100-year-old-christian-place-worship-1437382 8 Joint submission to the Human Rights Committee from The World Evangelical Alliance, Open Doors, Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Middle East Concern, Article 18, 29 May 2020 , https://articleeighteen.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/F3430b2020-JointReport_Iran_HRCttee_ListOfIssues-dragged-1.pdf 9 2019 Report on International Religious Freedom: Iran, U.S. Department of State, https://www.state.gov/reports/2019-report-oninternational-religious-freedom/iran/ 10 Joint submission to the Human Rights Committee from The World Evangelical Alliance, Open Doors, Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Middle East Concern, Article 18, 29 May 2020 , https://articleeighteen.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/F3430b2020-JointReport_Iran_HRCttee_ListOfIssues-dragged-1.pdf 11 Joint submission to the Human Rights Committee from The World Evangelical Alliance, Open Doors, Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Middle East Concern, Article 18, 29 May 2020 , https://articleeighteen.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/F3430b2020-JointReport_Iran_HRCttee_ListOfIssues-dragged-1.pdf 12 Joint submission to the Human Rights Committee from The World Evangelical Alliance, Open Doors, Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Middle East Concern, Article 18, 29 May 2020 , https://articleeighteen.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/F3430b2020-JointReport_Iran_HRCttee_ListOfIssues-dragged-1.pdf 13 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 14 Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, 18 July https://documentsdds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N19/222/62/PDF/N1922262.pdf?OpenElement 15 ARTICLE19, https://www.article19.org/resources/iran-lawmakers-must-urgently-drop-the-bill-that-criminalises-fundamentalrights-and-freedoms/ 16 Baha’i International Community, https://www.bic.org/sites/default/files/pdf/iran/the_bahais_of_iran__a_persecuted_community.pdf 2

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REF1549

Recommendations

Mechanism: Special Rapporteur - Freedom of Religion or Belief

Date: Feb 1, 2010

Paragraph number: 146

Full Recommendation: Furthermore, the Special Rapporteur would like to refer to General Assembly resolution 63/181, in which the Assembly urges States to step up their efforts to protect and promote freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief, and to this end, to exert the utmost efforts, in accordance with their national legislation and in conformity with international human rights law, to ensure that religious places, sites, shrines and symbols are fully respected and protected and to take additional measures in cases where they are vulnerable to desecration and destruction. As mentioned, inter alia, in paragraph 4 of the Human Rights Committee's general comment no. 22, places of worship are an essential element of the manifestation of the right to freedom of religion or belief to the extent that the great majority of religious communities or communities of belief need the existence of a place of worship where their members can manifest their faith. Moreover, unlike other forms of violations of the right to freedom of religion or belief, attacks or other forms of restriction on places of worship or other religious sites and shrines in many cases violate the right not only of a single individual, but the rights of a group of individuals forming the community that is attached to the place in question

Recommendation Status: Not Implemented

Themes

Freedom from discrimination
Freedom of religion and belief

Demographics

Religious, Ethnic and Linguistic Minorities

Source Reference Info: A/HRC/13/40/Add.1

Primary Documents

UNSR FoRB 2010 Feb para 146.pdf
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