On Religious Freedom: The UK Human Rights Report on Iran

Photo: UK Foreign Office

Barney of Barnabas Quotidianus brought my attention to the fact that the UK puts out a similar document to the annual human rights review put out by the US Department of State which I drew from in a recent post. Here is text relating to the Baha'i Faith in the UK document. Thanks, Barney.

Iran does not recognise the Bahá’ís as a religious minority.
International representatives of the Bahá’í faith report that the
Bahá’í community in Iran now faces even greater intimidation
from officials and quasi-official bodies. Sites of religious
significance have been destroyed. Bahá’í leaders have
reportedly received orders to suspend all social and community-related
activities and there have been instances of arbitrary
arrest and detention. Bahá’ís have restricted opportunities for
advancement and do not, for instance, have normal access to
higher education. It is deeply disappointing that the Iranian
authorities have not acted on repeated calls by the UN General
Assembly to ensure that the Bahá’ís enjoy full and equal rights.
Despite regular pledges to respect human rights, the Iranian
authorities have not taken sufficient steps to address the
legislative and institutional shortcomings that allow violations to
occur.

UK Foreign Office's Annual Human Rights Report for 2005, p. 59