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years in prison by the court of appeal of Isfahan on charges of “membership of the illegal Bahá’í community and propaganda against the regime by spreading the Bahá’í faith in the society”.6 The constant threat of arrests and detention or imprisonment is a main feature of the country’s persecution of Bahá’ís.7 Such a threat can well amount to coercion to renounce or convert from the Bahá’í faith and therefore impairs their freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief. The structural exclusion of other religious minorities from Article 13 of the Constitution leaves these religious minorities without legal protection to manifest and practice their religion or belief. Article 14 of the Constitution stipulates 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”.8 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 Bahá’ís. 9 Although the government affirmed that “all Bahá’ís can freely perform their personal rituals”10, the Bahá’í faith is considered as a “misguided sect” in Iran and Baha’i worship and religious practices are deemed heresy. 11 Bahá’ís are prohibited from practicing their faith publicly, and they are not allowed to operate houses of worship.12 Bahá’í cemeteries have been desecrated, and in some cases turned into parks and cultural buildings, and as a result, Bahá’ís have not been allowed to bury their dead in accordance with their religious laws.13 Furthermore, a bill on “misguided sects”14 has been adopted by the Committee for Judicial and Legal Affairs of Parliament in July 2019 that would criminalize membership in groups that the government considers “misguided”. 1516 The bill increases the risk of criminalization for Bahá’ís, which Baha’i International Community www.bic.org/sites/default/files/pdf/iran/overview_of_persecution-0119_2.pdf 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 8 The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran http://www.iranchamber.com/government/laws/constitution_ch01.php 9 Baha’i International Community, https://www.bic.org/focus-areas/situation-iranian-bahais/current-situation 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 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 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%2f4231 7&Lang=en 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, 28 January 2020, https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G20/021/53/PDF/G2002153.pdf?OpenElement 15 Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, 28 January 2020, https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G20/021/53/PDF/G2002153.pdf?OpenElement 16 https://rc.majlis.ir/fa/news/show/1206670 6 7 2

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REF0108

Recommendations

Mechanism: Special Rapporteur - Freedom of Religion or Belief

Date: Feb 1, 2009

Paragraph number: 112

Full Recommendation: Furthermore, she would like to recall that the General Assembly resolution 63/181 urges States to step up their efforts to eliminate intolerance and discrimination based on religion or belief, notably by taking all necessary and appropriate action, in conformity with international standards of human rights, to combat hatred, discrimination, intolerance and acts of violence, intimidation and coercion motivated by intolerance based on religion or belief, as well as incitement to hostility or violence, with particular regard to members of religious minorities in all parts of the world. In this regard, the Special Rapporteur is very concerned by the continued violations of freedom of religion or belief suffered by members of the Baha'i community. She urges the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to ensure that the Baha'i members who are currently detained receive a fair trial and she would like to recommend the presence of independent observers during the trials.

Recommendation Status: Not Implemented

Themes

Freedom from discrimination
Freedom of religion and belief
Right to fair trial

Demographics

Religious, Ethnic and Linguistic Minorities

Source Reference Info: A/HRC/10/8/Add.1

Primary Documents

UNSR FoRB 2009 Feb para 112.pdf
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