BAHA'I United Nations Office
INTERNATIONAL 866 United Nations Plaza, Suite 120, New York, NY 10017 USA
COMMUNITY Telephone: 212-803-2500, Fax: 212-803-2566, Email: uno-nyc@bic.org


16 October 2006



To selected National Spiritual Assemblies and Baha’i Communities

Dear Baha’i Friends,
In this past year we have again witnessed the continuing plans of the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to systematically obliterate the Baha'i community in Iran. The increase in intensity and frequency of the inexorable pressures being exercised by the Iranian authorities on the Baha’i community has received worldwide attention.
The Baha'i International Community has received confirmation that like previous years Canada will initiate a resolution on the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran at the 61st session of the United Nations General Assembly that will commence in mid-September 2006.
At the 60th session, the resolution on Iran passed with a respectable margin; with 75 votes in favor of the resolution, 50 votes against, 43 member states abstaining and 23 member states absent. A “no-action motion” called for by the Islamic Republic of Iran before the vote on the resolution at the Third Committee was defeated and the resolution was adopted by the Committee and subsequently at the General Assembly Plenary. Your government has consistently voted against the resolution, and we believe that geo-
political and economic reasons have prevented your government from taking a more favorable position.
We are sending you the latest update on the situation of the Baha’is in Iran as of August 2006. Please make an appointment to meet with the appropriate government official and give a copy to that official, and emphasize that there has been no change in the Iranian government’s policies aimed at destroying the Baha’i community in their country. In fact, it has intensified its pressure on the Baha’is in Iran, contributing further to their persistent and systematic religious persecution.
In light of the rapidly deteriorating situation of the Baha'is in Iran, we believe that the international community must continue to support a resolution on the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Even though your government is unlikely to change its position on the resolution, you may seek your government’s support by other means if you think it appropriate, in which case you could pursue one or more of the following options:
.. Thank your government for meeting with you and express the regards of the Baha'i community in your country. .. Apprise your government of the steadily worsening situation of the Baha'is in Iran. The persecution of the Baha'is in Iran has intensified further through a long series of arrests and other grave forms of harassment and intimidation. Many of the prisoners have only been released after having posted significant sums of money as bail. Homes of Baha'is are being searched and confiscated; their attempts to secure employment, pensions or inheritance are blocked only on account of their religion. The Baha'i community remains without fundamental religious freedoms accorded to it in international human rights documents that Iran has signed. These include the right of Baha'is to freely assemble, choose their leadership and to openly manifest their religion. .. Remind your government about the discovery by the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief of a confidential letter sent on 29 October 2005 by the Chairman of the Command Headquarters of the Armed Forces in Iran to a number of governmental agencies such as the Ministry of Information, the Revolutionary Guard and the Police Force, states that the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, had instructed the Command Headquarters to identify persons who adhere to the Baha'i Faith and monitor their activities. The letter goes on to request the recipients to, in a highly confidential manner, collect any and all information about members of the Baha'i Faith. .. Inform your government that by the time the letter from the Chairman of the Command Headquarters of the Armed Forces was made public by the UN Special Rapporteur action on it was already being taken. The Iranian Association of Chambers of Commerce and the Union of Battery Manufacturers have issued instructions to their respective affiliates to compile lists of all Baha'is known to them. These letters together with mounting media attacks on the Baha'is, the nature of which in the past have preceded government-led assaults on the Baha'is in Iran in addition to the rise in influence in Iranian governmental circles of the Anti-Baha'i Society, Hojjatieh, an organization committed to the destruction of the Baha’i Faith, has raised new levels of alarm for the beleaguered Baha'i community. .. Remind your government that given the generous margin by which the resolution on Iran passed at the 60th session of the General Assembly, and in light of the current events in Iran, a similar resolution stands an even better chance of passing this year. .. Request your government to mention its concern about the situation of the Baha'i community in Iran in its statement during the Third Committee meetings of the General Assembly; your government can express its concern for the Baha'is in Iran even if it chooses to vote against the resolution.
.. Ask your government to pose a question regarding the situation of the Baha'is in Iran to the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief during the interactive dialogue at the Third Committee meetings of the General Assembly.
.. Should a “no action” motion be introduced this year by or on behalf of Iran, we ask that your government vote against it; as such a motion would adjourn the debate, and “no action” would be allowed to take place to adopt such a resolution.


We remain convinced that continued scrutiny and pressure by the international community is currently the most effective means for the eventual emancipation of the Baha’is in Iran. Kindly inform our New York Office promptly of any action undertaken in this regard.
Please be assured that we will, in due time, inform you of the events at and the outcome of the 61st session of the UN General Assembly.
With loving Baha’i greetings,
Bani Dugal
Principal Representative
 to the United Nations

Enclosure:
Situation of the Baha’is in Iran – Update: August

