main feature of the country’s persecution of Baha’is.8 9 Such a threat can well amount to
coercion to renounce or convert from the Baha’i faith and therefore impairs their freedom to
have or to adopt a religion or belief.
B. Freedom of everyone to either individually or in community with others and in
public or private, to manifest religion or belief in worship, observance, practice
and teaching, including members of the Baha’i community
The structural exclusion of other religious minorities from Article 13 of the Constitution
leaves them without legal protection to manifest and practice their religion or belief. Article
14 of the Constitution sets out that the government and Muslims in Iran are “duty-bound to
treat non-Muslims in conformity with ethical norms and the principles of Islamic justice and
equity, and to respect their citizen rights”.10 Articles 23 to 27 of the Constitution provide for
freedom of expression, assembly and association as well as the freedom to practice ones’
religion. However, this duty applies only to those “who refrain from engaging in conspiracy
or activity against Islam and the Islamic Republic of Iran”, a charge that is regularly held
against certain religious minorities, especially the Baha’is. 11
Although the government affirmed that “all Baha’is can freely perform their personal rituals”12
the Baha’i faith is considered as a “misguided sect” in Iran and Baha’i worship and religious
practices are deemed heresy.13 Baha’is are prohibited from practicing their faith publicly, and
they are not allowed to operate houses of worship.14 Baha’i cemeteries have been desecrated,
and in some cases turned into parks and cultural buildings and Baha’is have not been allowed to
bury their dead in accordance with their religious laws.15 Furthermore, a bill currently under
review of the Iranian Parliament as of November 2020 would criminalize “any deviant
educational or proselytizing activity that contradicts or interferes with the sacred law of
Islam” when it is, among others, part of a “sect”, or through the use of “mind control methods
and psychological indoctrination”. Such bill may well disproportionately impact individuals
belonging to unrecognized religious minorities, such as Baha’is, often arrested and detained
on the basis of their religious beliefs notably on the charge of proselytizing the Baha’i faith.16
8
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
9
See more: Baha’i International Community, https://www.bic.org/focus-areas/situation-iranian-bahais/current-situation
10
The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran http://www.iranchamber.com/government/laws/constitution_ch01.php
11
See more: Baha’i International Community, https://www.bic.org/focus-areas/situation-iranian-bahais/current-situation
12
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
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
NGO joint submission to the Human Rights Committee, 2019, All Human Rights for All in Iran, Association for Human
Rights in Kurdistan – Geneva (KMMK-G), Association for the Human Rights Of The Azerbaijani People In Iran (AHRAZ),
Iran Human Rights Documentation Center (IHRDC), OutRight International, Siamak Pourzand Foundation, Small Media,
and Impact Iran,
https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=INT%2fCCPR%2fNGO%2fIRN%2f4
2317&Lang=en
15
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
16
ARTICLE19, https://www.article19.org/resources/iran-lawmakers-must-urgently-drop-the-bill-that-criminalisesfundamental-rights-and-freedoms/
2