Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports of the seizure of 100 hectares of land belonging to Baha’i farmers by agents of the Iranian state in the Province of Mazandaran in January; and what steps they are taking to raise this matter through bilateral or multilateral means.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK condemns the continued persecution of religious minorities in Iran and we are aware of recent reports of land expropriation discriminately targeting the Baha'i community. At the 78th UN General Assembly, we co-sponsored the Iran Human Rights Resolution calling for Iran to eliminate, in law and in practice, all forms of discrimination on the basis of thought, conscience, religion or belief. We are committed to promoting religious freedom and will continue to work with partners and the UK Baha'i community to hold the Iranian authorities to account.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the persecution of members of the Baha’i community, including of reports of the expropriation of farming land in Mazandaran Province; and what assessment they have made of the impact of these actions on this community.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK condemns the continued persecution of religious minorities in Iran and we are aware of recent reports of land expropriation discriminately targeting the Baha'i community. At the 78th UN General Assembly, we co-sponsored the Iran Human Rights Resolution calling for Iran to eliminate, in law and in practice, all forms of discrimination on the basis of thought, conscience, religion or belief. We are committed to promoting religious freedom and will continue to work with partners and the UK Baha'i community to hold the Iranian authorities to account.
Found: Freedom and democracy in Iran
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent discussions he has had with his Iranian counterpart on the (a) displaced farmers and (b) seizure of farmland from Baha’is in that country.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK condemns the continued persecution of religious minorities in Iran, and we are aware of recent reports of land expropriation discriminately targeting the Baha'i community. At the 78th UN General Assembly, we co-sponsored the Iran Human Rights Resolution, calling for Iran to eliminate, in law and in practice, all forms of discrimination on the basis of thought, conscience, religion or belief. We are committed to promoting religious freedom and will continue to work with partners to advocate for the rights of the Baha'i community in Iran.
Oct. 05 2023
Source Page: Persecution of the Baha'i Faith in Iran - FCDO statementFound: Persecution of the Baha'i Faith in Iran - FCDO statement
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the Government's policy is on the inclusion of a separate operative paragraph on the persecution of Baha’is in any potential resolution on human rights in Iran that is tabled at the 78th session of UN General Assembly; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are committed to defending freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all and we have repeatedly expressed concern at Iran's ongoing discrimination against Baha'i leaders and members of the Baha'i faith. The UK highlighted Iran's treatment of Baha'is at the United Nations Third Committee in November and co-sponsored the UN General Assembly Resolution on Iran Human Rights, which calls on Iran to protect members of religious minorities including the Baha'i, and we will continue to support language on this issue. We will continue to work closely with international partners at the UN and in other fora to hold Iran to account for its dire human rights record.
Found: Iran: Baha'i Faith 27 Jun 2023 | 190140 Asked by: Taiwo Owatemi To ask the Secretary of State
Asked by: Taiwo Owatemi (Labour - Coventry North West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for his policies of reports of the arrest of four Baha'i leaders in Iran on 1 May 2023.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK unequivocally condemns the persecution of religious minorities in Iran. We are appalled by reports of the regime's increased detentions of Baha'is, as well as expropriation of land and destruction of homes of the Baha'i community. On 20 December 2022, the Prime Minister's Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB), Fiona Bruce, expressed the UK's condemnation of Iran's imprisonment of Baha'i leaders. We raise FoRB and wider human rights issues with the regime at all appropriate opportunities, and we continue to work closely with our international partners to hold Iran to account for its dire human rights record.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Enfield, Southgate)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make representations to the Iranian government on respect for the (a) burial rites for deceased Baha’is and (b) rights of their families to bury them and mark their graves in accordance with their beliefs.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Baha'i community in Iran is systematically discriminated against, harassed and targeted by Iranian authorities. The UK Government agrees with the UN Special Rapporteur for Iran Human Rights' latest assessment that destruction of Baha'i cemeteries and prevention of proper burial for Baha'i is representative of Iran's deeply unjust judicial system. We raise human rights issues with Iran at all appropriate opportunities, including freedom of religion or belief (FORB).
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the persecution of Baháʼís in Iran; and what diplomatic steps he has taken to urge the Iranian authorities to (a) release imprisoned Bahá’ís and (b) compensate those who have lost their houses and their land.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK unequivocally condemns the persecution of religious minorities in Iran. Reports of increased detentions, expropriation of land and destruction of homes indicate the regime intensified its repression of the Baha'i community in 2022. On 20 December 2022, the Prime Minister's Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief, Fiona Bruce, expressed the UK's condemnation of the sentencing of Baha'i leaders Mahvash Sabet and Fariba Kamalabadi to a further decade of imprisonment. We continue to work closely with our international partners to hold Iran to account for its dire human rights record and raise these issues with the regime at all appropriate opportunities.