Iran's treatment of ethnic and religious minorities - a damning report by FIDH

Thank goodness for excellent organisations like FIDH (Federation Internationale des Droits de l'Homme - International Federation for Human Rights)

They've just issued a hard-hitting report condemning Iran's appalling treatment of its ethnic and religious minorities - including the Baha'is. 

Fidh

Damning report on an ignored issue: Discrimination against ethnic and religious minorities in Iran

21 October 2010
  • The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the Iranian League for the Defence of Human Rights (LDDHI) make public today a report on discrimination against ethnic communities and religious minorities in Iran. The report, entitled “The Hidden Face of Iran”, highlights an unknown aspect of Iran: the severe discrimination faced by ethnic communities and religious minorities in every domain/area.
“Iran is a real mosaic: the country has many minorities - Azeris, Kurds, Arabs and Baluchis, among others constitute the population of entire provinces of the country, although there are no official statistics on the composition of the population; such a subject is taboo for the authorities,”said Karim Lahidji, vice-President of FIDH and President of LDDHI. “Religious minorities also face discrimination in addition to being victims of persecution such as through arbitrary detention, extrajudicial executions, destruction of cemeteries and holy places,” he added. These persecutions not only target the Baha’is, a religious minority not recognised by the Iranian Constitution, but also target Christians, Sunni Muslims and Sufis and others. 

It is through repression and terror that the Iranian regime responds to peaceful calls to put an end to attacks on minority rights: it reacts with violence, arbitrary arrests, torture, unfair trials and even executions. 

FIDH and LDDHI present in their report concrete recommendations to the attention of the Iranian authorities that include a major reform of the Constitution and Iranian legislation both of which are deeply discriminatory. They also recommend the adoption of concrete measures particularly in the areas of education, employment, access to public services and housing, in order to put an end to the persisting discrimination against ethnic communities and religious minorities. In addition, the Iranian authorities should fully implement the recommendations that have been addressed under the Universal Periodic Review of the United Nations and by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. 

While the UN General Assembly, which should adopt a resolution on the situation of human rights in Iran, is currently at session in New York, FIDH and LDDHI call upon the international community to ensure that the issue of ethnic communities and religious minorities in Iran is an integral part of this resolution. Furthermore, our organisations reiterate their call that this resolution include - at last - a monitoring mechanism on the situation of human rights in Iran.

Download the FIDH report here.

It's really important for governments around the world to continue to defend the rights of those whose freedoms, whose very lives, are under threat.

And each of us can keep up with reports, such as this one by FIDH, and support excellent organisations like United4Iran.

Human rights, religious freedom and Iran's nuclear crisis

One issue that should be put on the table was displayed by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad this week in New York: Iran's religious minorities.

Iran's deplorable record on human rights is often treated as separate from the nuclear issue. It's not. If Iran's government can't be trusted to treat its own citizens with basic dignity, how can it be trusted with nuclear technology?

Mr. Ahmadinejad's theatrics involved including five religious minority parliamentarians in his entourage to the UN General Assembly, this week. This act shows how eager Tehran is to be accepted back into the community of nations. Thus, the human rights card could be considerable leverage for Western powers in coming weeks.

When he addressed the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 23, Ahmadinejad professed concern for "justice, freedom, and human rights." He apparently thought his five props would help him project a tolerant, peace-loving face. It was a stiff performance.

...

Apart from the four heritage religious minorities (Jews, Armenian Christians, Assyrian-Chaldean Christians, and Zoroastrians) that are allotted parliamentary seats, there are other groups who have even fewer rights. Bahais, treated as heretics from Islam, have no constitutional protections. They can be robbed and murdered with impunity since Iranian law declares that their blood is mobah or can be spilt. Major Bahai shrines have been demolished and the people can assemble only in secrecy.

...

If Ahmadinejad's regime meets obligations to its fellow Iranians, then it is more likely to fulfill agreements with the international community. Transparency and well-being, rather than secrecy and aggression – as reflected yet again by the recently revealed nuclear facility – are necessary in Iran's national and international affairs.

Ultimately, when free to express their beliefs and ideas, Iran's people will be the best guarantors of their nation's fidelity in world affairs.

via csmonitor.com

In this article, Jamsheed K Chosky and Nina Shea neatly highlight the hypocrisy of Ahmadinejad's public performance in New York. It also highlights the confusion amongst Western governments about how to deal with the challenges that Iran poses.

Naturally everyone is concerned about the possibility that Iran may be developing nuclear weapons, but, as Chosky and Shea point out, this cannot be regarded as somehow separate from Iran's appalling human rights record and its egregious treatment of religious and other minorities, including the Baha'is.

The 64th session of the UN General Assembly offers the world's governments the opportunity to voice their condemnation of Iran's calculated disregard for international human rights covenants to which it is a party and which it has never repudiated.

This is a matter of principle. I know that "realpolitik" and principle are not comfortable bedfellows, but if the international community remains silent on Iran's truly appalling treatment of the Baha'is and other minorities, who are, after all, Iranian citizens, this will be tantamount to complicity with these abuses.

Do read the rest of the Christian Science Monitor article.