Mercy to all Religious Minorities in Iran

HRC 25 session - Item 4. General Debate

18 March 2014 - Speaker: Joy Mdivo

Thank you Mr President.

The principles of religious freedom, whether it be the right to choose, hold, express one’s faith without interference, or gather collectively, are independent of the majority rule or system of government in any one country.  Whether one is Shia in the Kingdom of Bahrain, a Baha’i in the Islamic Republic of Iran, or a Christian in Nigeria, the right to choose, hold, or express one’s faith should be protected just the same.  But reality has shown this not to be the case.

In the Islamic Republic of Iran, religious minorities, particularly the Baha’i and Christian communities, are demonised publicly by government officials and clerics of the ruling Shite majority. As Special Rapporteur Ahmed Shaheed reported, “[a]s at 3 January 2014, at least 307 members of religious minorities were in detention, of whom 136 were Baha’is, 90 Sunni Muslims, 50 Christians, 19 Dervish Muslims . . . , four were Yarasan, two were Zoroastrians and six were from other groups.”

Many of these religious minorities were charged with national security based charges – but to fully honour the principles of religious freedom as expressed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the ICCPR, membership in a religious minority and the peaceful gathering of like-minded believers cannot equate to an attempt to undermine national security.

Yet in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Baha’is are almost exclusively prosecuted for participation in their community affairs, including by facilitating educational services and publicly engaging in religious practices, such as attending devotional gatherings. Christians, like Saeed Abedini, are likewise prosecuted under the guise of threatening the national security for peacefully gathering with like-minded believers. As Dr. Shaheed reported, Iranian authorities at the highest levels have designated Christian house churches and evangelical Christians as threats to national security.

But if we are a world that recognizes the importance of religious plurality, diversity of ideas, and robust debate we must respect the rights of all religions. Thus, even in the Islamic Republic of Iran, a theocracy of Shiite rule, religious minorities must be free to choose, hold, and express their faith, in both the private and public sphere.  These religious minorities must be allowed to peacefully gather in accordance with their faith traditions.

For these reasons, we encourage the Islamic Republic of Iran to show love and mercy to all religious minorities and to release all prisoners of conscience, including Saeed Abedini. The ECLJ further recommends that the Human Rights Council renew the mandate for the Special Rapporteur and continue to work with the Iranian government to see that religious minorities are protected.