I don't think any of us would want to be a Baha'i living in Iran.
Opinion: Iran should stand trial for persecution of Baha'i
IRWIN COTLER AND RENÉE MARIA TREMBLAY, SPECIAL TO MONTREAL GAZETTE, MONTREAL GAZETTE 10.29.2014
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In Geneva on Friday, Oct. 31, the United Nations Human Rights Council is conducting its Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Iran’s human rights record. After the first UPR in 2010, Iran accepted 123 of the Council’s 188 recommendations and committed to comply with the international human rights obligations to which it is bound. However, as Parliament heard Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Iran, Ahmed Shaheed, Iran has failed miserably in adhering to its commitments. As such, in conducting its review Friday, the council should hold Iran to account for the breach of its undertakings of four years ago.
Some 34 recommendations from Iran’s last UPR concerned violations of the rights of the Baha’i religious minority, and serve as a case study of Iran’s failure to implement UPR recommendations generally. For example:
Baha’i continue to be arrested for their beliefs at an alarming pace. Since the last UPR, more than 450 have been arrested, despite Iran’s acceptance of recommendations ranging from the protection of religious freedom to the safeguarding of the rights of detainees, protection against torture, and fair trials for the Baha’i.
The constant threat of raids, arrests, detention, and imprisonment are among the main features of Iran’s persecution of the Baha’i over the last decade. This persecution has intensified since the last UPR, despite Iranian promises, and more recently, promises by President Hassan Rouhani to “end discrimination on the basis of religion.”
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http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/world/Opinion+Iran+should+stand+trial+persecut
Opinion: Iran should stand trial for persecution of Baha'i
IRWIN COTLER AND RENÉE MARIA TREMBLAY, SPECIAL TO MONTREAL GAZETTE, MONTREAL GAZETTE 10.29.2014
SHAREADJUSTCOMMENTPRINT
In Geneva on Friday, Oct. 31, the United Nations Human Rights Council is conducting its Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Iran’s human rights record. After the first UPR in 2010, Iran accepted 123 of the Council’s 188 recommendations and committed to comply with the international human rights obligations to which it is bound. However, as Parliament heard Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Iran, Ahmed Shaheed, Iran has failed miserably in adhering to its commitments. As such, in conducting its review Friday, the council should hold Iran to account for the breach of its undertakings of four years ago.
Some 34 recommendations from Iran’s last UPR concerned violations of the rights of the Baha’i religious minority, and serve as a case study of Iran’s failure to implement UPR recommendations generally. For example:
Baha’i continue to be arrested for their beliefs at an alarming pace. Since the last UPR, more than 450 have been arrested, despite Iran’s acceptance of recommendations ranging from the protection of religious freedom to the safeguarding of the rights of detainees, protection against torture, and fair trials for the Baha’i.
The constant threat of raids, arrests, detention, and imprisonment are among the main features of Iran’s persecution of the Baha’i over the last decade. This persecution has intensified since the last UPR, despite Iranian promises, and more recently, promises by President Hassan Rouhani to “end discrimination on the basis of religion.”
Continue reading at:
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/world/Opinion+Iran+should+stand+trial+persecut