HRC43: Oral statement during Iran UPR outcome

Agenda Item 6: UPR Outcome, Iran

Organisation: Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW)

Speaker: Claire Denman

Thank you Madame President,

CSW welcomes the numerous recommendations made to Iran urging the State to uphold the right to freedom of religion or belief and protect religious minorities. We regret that the vast majority of these have not been supported by the state.

The acceptance and implementation of these recommendations is essential. Religious minorities across the country continue to face intense discrimination, harassment and persecution.

Christians who have converted from Islam, as well as members of the Baha’i community, are particularly targeted. Members of these groups are regularly arrested and handed excessive prison sentences, often on spurious national security charges.

We continue to call for the immediate and unconditional release of all those detained in Iran on account of their religion or belief, including Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani and Pastor Matthias Haghnejad.

In many cases, due process is not observed, and trials are often short and presided over by judges notorious for miscarriages of justice. We therefore echo recommendation 26.303 from Albania, calling on Iran to “amend legislation and judicial procedures to ensure that no religious group is the subject of discrimination so that all religious groups receive the same treatment under the law.”

CSW welcomes calls to ensure equal access to education for all, which remains a key issue in Iran. Children of Christian converts and Baha’is are particularly vulnerable and often face abuse and harassment in schools, or are denied access to education altogether.

Although members of recognised religious minorities, including Christians, are normally exempt from attending classes in Islamic studies, children of converts to Christianity are considered by the authorities to be Muslims and are therefore expected to participate.

We urge Iran to reconsider its position and support and implement recommendations 26.316 and 26.319 from Luxembourg and North Macedonia to end policies which enable educational discrimination against individuals on account of their religion or belief.

Thank you.