Iran: Baha'i Community

Back to top
11.30 am

Lord Avebury asked Her Majesty’s Government:

Whether they will consult other European Union member states on issuing a d?marche to the Government of Iran about the arrests of leading members of the Baha’i community.

The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Malloch-Brown): My Lords, the Government are deeply concerned by the arrest of the Baha’i leadership in Tehran last week and the ongoing persecution of the Baha’i community in Iran. Following a recommendation by the United Kingdom the EU issued a statement on 21 May, which expressed,

“serious concern about the continuing systematic discrimination and harassment of the Iranian Baha'is on the grounds of their religion”,

and called for the release of those detained individuals.

Lord Avebury: My Lords, while I am grateful to the EU presidency for its statement, in view of the fact that Iran accounts for the largest number of urgent appeals by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and that the working group, the special rapporteur on freedom of religion and the independent expert on minorities have jointly and separately drawn attention to the serious concerns felt about the treatment of Baha’is over the past two years, does the Minister agree that the situation warrants an emergency resolution at the forthcoming eighth Session of the Human Rights Council, which is to be held in the first half of June this year?

Lord Malloch-Brown: My Lords, I agree that it warrants one; we will have to consider whether we can achieve it. It is possible to ask for a special Session of an emergency resolution at the Human Rights Council, but to date the way that we have had most success on Iran, including on the Baha’is issue, has been through the third committee of the UN General Assembly. We have used the Human Rights Council to raise issues of the treatment of the Baha’is, using the thematic special rapporteurs to which the noble Lord referred.

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford: My Lords, the Minister may or may not be aware that we on these Benches have been mourning the death of Bishop Dehqani-Tafti, a former bishop in Iran, whose son was murdered in the early years of the ayatollahs. Will he accept that in states where there is a strong and predominant religious and political tradition there is a particular duty to protect the liberties, beliefs and styles of life of those whose beliefs are in strong contrast? Will he also accept that the Government in Iran do not have a good record in these matters?

Lord Malloch-Brown: My Lords, the right reverend Prelate is correct. A draft penal code is being considered by the Iranian Parliament, which makes apostasy, heresy and witchcraft punishable by death. We are concerned about the impact that those provisions would have on religious minorities in Iran. On 1 April my colleague, Dr Howells, called in the Iranian ambassador to express our concerns.

Lord Howell of Guildford: My Lords, is it not correct that as the right revered Prelate the Bishop of Chelmsford has reminded us, this persecution of the Baha’i has been going on a long time, ever since the ayatollahs took over? There have been horrific reports, even several years ago, of public executions of young teenagers for being part of the Baha’i community. While we are talking about Iran’s behaviour, did the Minister notice the comments made yesterday, or the day before, by the Russian ambassador to Israel, Mr Petr Stegniy, that Russia is just as concerned as we are about Iranian intolerance and aggression and about all Iranian nuclear ambitions, but that it believes that the containment of Iran should be approached in a different way? Bearing in mind the rather unsuccessful attempts we have had so far to bring Iran into line, will the Minister use his considerable diplomatic skills to bring the American thinkers and the Russian policy-makers together so that we have a more successful approach in the future to all these matters?

Lord Malloch-Brown: My Lords, the noble Lord is correct. The Russians, the Americans and everybody else are frustrated by the slow progress on bringing Iran into compliance with its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. A meeting was held here in early May that included the Russian Foreign Minister in the so-called E3+3 which again agreed on a strategy, so there is no disagreement between us about using the Security Council and the IAEA as the channels through which to secure compliance. We are now seeking a further meeting in Tehran of the political directors, including the Russian political director, and along with Mr Solana, to present revised and refreshed proposals. However, we must recognise that if this channel does not bear adequate fruit, we need continuously to re-examine the ways in which we approach Iran diplomatically.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: My Lords, I was proud to see at an official ceremony in Westminster Abbey some time ago that the Baha’i community in Britain is now treated as one of our many established faith communities. Can we not make it very clear to the Iranian Government, who see themselves as the protector of the global Shi’ite community, that if you want to be seen as the protector of your own community internationally, you have to recognise that others have some say in how you treat your religious minorities?

Lord Malloch-Brown: My Lords, the noble Lord makes a valid point. You cannot propose yourself on the one hand as a champion of religious freedoms and relations between civilisations, while on the other brutally abuse not just one but several minorities in your own country. Last year the European Union raised human rights concerns with the Iranian Government 28 times, and we did so on eight occasions. There is no doubt about the clarity of our message. The frustration arises from dealing with a regime which chooses not to hear.

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: My Lords, I want to express my appreciation of the Home Secretary’s action in giving asylum to Mehdi Kazemi, the young man who was to be forcefully removed to Iran. I am told that that happened yesterday. In view of what is going on in Iran and the possible treatment of those who are repatriated or forcibly removed from here, could there not be a total moratorium on the removal of failed asylum seekers to Iran?

Lord Malloch-Brown: My Lords, let me return the compliment to the noble Lord and to those in this House who have continuously raised the issue of Mehdi Kazemi. That was instrumental in the Home Secretary’s reconsideration of the case and the decision to grant him a five-year initial stay here in the UK. Equally, however, noble Lords will recognise that we must preserve the right to deal with these matters on a case-by case-basis. That is at the heart of our approach to asylum.

