India's Baha'is have drawn attention to the persecution of the community in Iran, the birthplace of the faith. The community said that the United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, has placed the persecution of the Baha'is in Iran among the world’s gravest human rights concerns, in his latest global report on intolerance and violence based on religion or belief.
The UN report last week said that persecution of Baha'is is a longstanding and systematic policy of religious repression that demands urgent international attention. “Baha'is in the Islamic Republic of Iran continue to face arbitrary arrests, imprisonment, and restrictions on access to education and livelihoods, targeted solely for their religious beliefs”, the report states. “Authorities routinely invoke vague charges such as ‘spreading propaganda against the regime’ to criminalise peaceful community activities. The rights of Baha'is, including to manifest their religion or belief, remain severely curtailed.”
The community in Mumbai said that the report carries special weight as it is issued on behalf of the entire UN system and reflects a consensus view at the highest level of the international community. The report undercuts the Iranian government’s repeated denials of human rights violations, the community said.
“This is yet another powerful recognition, from the highest levels of the UN, that Iran’s persecution of the Baha'is is not only continuing but intensifying,” said Simin Fahandej, representative of the Baha'i International Community to the UN in Geneva. “The secretary-general’s report now joins that of the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Iran, successive special rapporteurs, Human Rights Watch, the Human Rights Council, and governments and organisations around the world," said Fahandej.
The community said the UN fact-finding mission reported a disproportionate targeting of Baha'i women since the 2022 uprising.
