Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help prevent persecution of the Bahá’í community in Iran.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
Promoting the right to freedom of religion or belief for all is one of the UK's longstanding human rights priorities. The Baha'i community in Iran continue to be systematically discriminated against, harassed, and targeted.
On 5 August 2022 the FCDO Minister responsible for Human Rights and Freedom of Religion and Belief, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, said; The persecution of religious minorities cannot be tolerated in 2022. We strongly condemn the increasing detention of members of the Baha'i community in Iran, as well as reports of forced closures of their businesses and land seizures. The persecution of religious minorities is a serious violation of international human rights law. We are working closely with our international partners to hold Iran to account and continue to raise human rights concerns regularly with the Iranian government.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of reports of property seizures of people belonging to the Bahai' community in Iran; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
Promoting the right to freedom of religion or belief for all is one of the UK's longstanding human rights priorities. Addressing reports of expropriation and repossession of land owned by Baha'i communities in Ivel remains important to HMG. The Baha'i community in Iran continue to be systematically discriminated against, harassed, and targeted.
We repeatedly raise human rights issues with the Iranian Government at all appropriate opportunities and we continue to take action with the international community to press Iran to improve its poor record. In November 2021, we co-sponsored the annual UN Third Committee resolution on human rights in Iran which called on the Government of Iran to release all religious practitioners imprisoned for their membership in or activities on behalf of a recognized or unrecognized minority religious or belief group.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to promote freedom of religion or belief for Baha’is.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The UK is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all, and promoting respect between different religious and non-religious communities. Promoting the right to FoRB is one of the UK's longstanding human rights priorities.
We remain deeply concerned about the severity and scale of violations and abuses towards the Baha'i community in different parts of the world. Bilaterally, Ministers and officials regularly raise specific cases of concern, and do not shy away from challenging those we believe are not meeting their obligations whether publicly or in private. For instance, On 22 April 2021, The Minister for the Middle East, North Africa and North America, outlined to Parliament in a Westminster Hall debate the efforts of the UK Government to hold Iran to account for its mistreatment toward followers of the Baha'i faith.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the human rights implications of the exclusion of Baháʼí students from universities in Iran as a consequence of policies set by the Iranian Education Monitoring and Evaluation Organization; and what representations they have made, if any, to the government of Iran in relation to such exclusions.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all, and promoting respect between different religious and non-religious communities. Promoting the right to FoRB is one of the UK's longstanding human rights priorities.
The Baha'i community in Iran continue to be systematically discriminated against, harassed, and targeted. We have repeatedly raised these persistent human rights violations with Iran. On 9 March, at the UN Human Rights Council, the UK called on Iran to end the discrimination and persecution of religious minorities, particularly towards the Baha'i and Christian converts. The education ministry's reported policies are another example of this discrimination. All religious or ethnic minorities should be allowed to participate fully in society and, together with the international community, we have pressed Iran to improve its poor record on all human rights issues. We call on President Raisi to set Iran on a different course and commit to improving human rights in Iran, including for all religious minorities.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Iranian counterpart on the persecution of Zoroastrians in that country.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all, and promoting respect between different religious and non-religious communities. Promoting the right to FoRB is one of the UK's longstanding human rights priorities.
While Zoroastrians are formally protected in the Iranian constitution, the reality is that many non-Muslims face discrimination. Meanwhile, the Baha'i community in Iran continue to be systematically discriminated against, harassed, and targeted. We have repeatedly raised these persistent human rights violations with Iran. On 9 March, at the UN Human Rights Council, the UK called on Iran to end the discrimination and persecution of religious minorities, particularly towards the Baha'i and Christian converts.
We condemn the incarceration of all religious minorities for the act of practicing their faith in Iran. We regularly raise human rights with the Iranians at all levels and take action with the international community to press Iran to improve its poor record on all human rights issues.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Iranian counterpart on the persecution of Baháʼís in that country.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all, and promoting respect between different religious and non-religious communities. Promoting the right to FoRB is one of the UK's longstanding human rights priorities.
While Zoroastrians are formally protected in the Iranian constitution, the reality is that many non-Muslims face discrimination. Meanwhile, the Baha'i community in Iran continue to be systematically discriminated against, harassed, and targeted. We have repeatedly raised these persistent human rights violations with Iran. On 9 March, at the UN Human Rights Council, the UK called on Iran to end the discrimination and persecution of religious minorities, particularly towards the Baha'i and Christian converts.
We condemn the incarceration of all religious minorities for the act of practicing their faith in Iran. We regularly raise human rights with the Iranians at all levels and take action with the international community to press Iran to improve its poor record on all human rights issues.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps his Department has taken to support freedom of religion in Iran.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all, and promoting respect between different religious and non-religious communities. Promoting the right to FoRB is one of the UK's longstanding human rights priorities.
The Baha'i community in Iran continue to be systematically discriminated against, harassed, and targeted. We have repeatedly raised these persistent human rights violations with Iran. On 9 March, at the latest session of the UN Human Rights Council, the UK called on Iran to end the discrimination and persecution of religious minorities, particularly towards the Baha'i and Christian converts. Lord Ahmad made a statement on 12 February, criticising the persecution against religious minorities in Iran, particularly focusing on expropriation of Baha'i-owned land. The UK fully backs renewing the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, so he can examine these issues further.
The minister responsible for human rights, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, made the UK's commitment to FoRB for all clear in a number of international meetings in November 2020. On 16 November 2020, he virtually attended the ministerial meeting to advance Freedom of Religion or Belief in Warsaw and reaffirmed the UK's commitment to promoting FoRB, particularly during the pandemic. He also reaffirmed the UK's commitment to promoting FoRB for all at the ministers' forum of the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance in the same month. On 20 December 2020, the Prime Minister appointed Fiona Bruce MP as his special envoy for FoRB. Mrs Bruce represents the UK at meetings of the alliance, who work to advocate for the rights of individuals being discriminated against or persecuted on the basis of their faith or belief.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations his Department has received on the judgments of Branch 54 of the Special Court for Article 49 of the Constitution, issued on 1 August 2020 and a further extraordinary session of the Court of Appeal on 13 October 2020, on the expropriation of properties and farms owned by a community of Bahá’is in the village of Ivel; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We remain deeply concerned by the continuing systematic discrimination, harassment and targeting of the Baha'i community in Iran. On 26 October 2020, we made a statement calling on Iran to ensure members of all religious and ethnic groups are treated equally before the law and allowed to participate fully in society. We support the assessment made by the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, that discrimination against the Baha'is is sanctioned by a lack of constitutional recognition. The Government continues to raise our concerns on this and other persistent human rights violations with Iran, and maintains close engagement with the Baha'i community.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Iranian counterpart on reports of members of the Baha’i community being imprisoned or banned from public sector employment where they have academic qualifications issued by the Baha’i Institute for Higher Education; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We remain deeply concerned by the continuing systematic discrimination, harassment and targeting of the Baha'i community in Iran and follow this situation closely. The Government continues to raise our concerns on this and other persistent human rights violations with Iran.
On 26 October, we made a statement on this matter, during the Interactive Dialogue with the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran. We called on Iran to ensure members of all religious and ethnic groups are treated equally before the law and allowed to participate fully in society.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Iranian counterparts on reports of members of the Baha’i community being denied access to university through the Iranian state university application process; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We remain deeply concerned by the continuing systematic discrimination, harassment and targeting of the Baha'i community in Iran, including that members of the community are being denied access to university. The Government continues to raise our concerns on this and other persistent human rights violations with Iran.
On 26 October, we made a statement on this matter, during the Interactive Dialogue with the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran. We called on Iran to ensure members of all religious and ethnic groups are treated equally before the law and allowed to participate fully in society.