Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 July 2020
375. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on the persecution of members of the Baha'i faith in Iran; if the arrest and imprisonment of members of the faith in Iran will be condemned; if he will raise the issue formally with the Iranian authorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18218/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe human rights situation in Iran remains a matter of serious concern. There are concerns in particular about the treatment of religious and ethnic minorities, political activists, human rights defenders, lawyers, journalists, labour rights activists, artists and environmentalists. Human rights issues therefore continue to constitute an important part of our engagement and dialogue with Iran.
Discriminatory practices with respect to employment, education and access to other basic services, continue to affect Bahá’í and other minority groups in Iran. Bahá’í business owners struggle to start and operate businesses, including issues with forced closures. Bahá’í students face challenges in gaining access to education, with consistent reports of applicants to universities being rejected on the basis of their faith. The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran has reported that members of minorities continue to be subjected to arbitrary arrest and detention for engaging in peaceful advocacy for their rights in Iran.
Ireland continues to call strongly for the end to the persecution of members of the Bahá’í faith in Iran, including through bilateral contacts, with our EU partners and at the UN. Bilaterally, our concerns are conveyed to the Iranian Embassy on all appropriate occasions. As part of political consultations with Iran which took place in Tehran in February, senior officials from my Department again directly communicated our concerns regarding the human rights situation in Iran.
Ireland has also consistently raised the discriminatory treatment of the Bahá’ís in multilateral fora. Most recently, at the 43rd session of the Human Rights Council, Ireland raised concerns regarding the continued discrimination against members of ethnic and religious minorities, in particular those that are not recognised under the Constitution in Iran, and made specific reference to the Bahá’í community.
Ireland also called on Iran to take all necessary steps to protect the rights of the Bahá’í during the Universal Periodic Review of Iran’s human rights record in November 2019.
Ireland, along with the EU, will continue to encourage progress in relation to religious minorities in Iran, and to make clear our concerns to the Iranian authorities.
