contradiction of Article 23 of the Constitution, it also bars minorities or anyone who are
unable or unwilling to accept these requirements from seeking employment in the public
sector.8 Members of religious and ethnic minorities have reportedly been the target of denial
of employment in the Islamic Republic of Iran.9 For example, members of the Yarsan
community reported the denial of public sector jobs through the application of gozinesh
requirements. 10 11 Members of the Baha’i faith have been reportedly barred from
employment in the public sector.12
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 sects”.13 The same year, President Hassan Rouhani issued a Charter on
Citizen’s Rights, a Government-endorsed declaration providing guidance for the
implementation of the principles, norms and laws stipulated in the Constitution. 14 In 2019,
the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran,
despite noting that measures have been taken to improve the situation of minorities, said that
they “do not alter the fundamentally discriminatory nature of the Constitution, legislation and
Islamic Penal Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in particular in relation to the country’s
unrecognized minority communities.”15
The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran stated
that “the gozinesh requirements are a violation of the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights, the International Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.”16 In
its General Comment No.18, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
stipulates that the Covenant “prohibits any discrimination in access to and maintenance of
employment” on grounds including race, religion, political or other opinion, national or social
origin or civil, political, social or other status, “which has the intention or effect of impairing
or nullifying exercise of the right to work on a basis of equality”.17 The Committee adds that
it is a core obligation to State parties “to avoid any measure that results in discrimination and
unequal treatment in the private and public sectors of disadvantaged and marginalized
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
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
10
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
11
Center for Human Rights in Iran, www.iranhumanrights.org/2017/05/most-yarsani-religious-minority-candidatesdisqualified- from-irans-2017-councils-elections/
12
Baha’i International Community, Submission to the Universal Periodic Review of Iran, 2019,
https://undocs.org/A/HRC/WG.6/34/IRN/3
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 Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review Islamic Republic of Iran, 27 December 2019,
https://undocs.org/A/HRC/43/12
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
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
17
General Comment No. 18: The Right to Work (Art. 6 of the Covenant) https://www.refworld.org/docid/4415453b4.html
2