От: Secretariat [Secretariat@bnc.glasnet.ru]
Отправлено: 1 февраля 2000 г. 15:23
Кому: Nancy Ackerman (E-mail); booboo-gal@home.com; Elena Lazareva; Igor Vereshchagin; Leonid Osokin; Richard Hainsworth; Sergei Poselski; Shamil Fattakhov; Svetlana Zhurakova; Vladimir Chupin; Irina Kuklina; Tanya Strashnenko; Volker Grossmann; Yulia Poroshina
Тема: FW: Commission on Human Rights, 56th Session

Nancy dear, seems to be a very busy time for your Committee - how pity that you are not here! love, anke

-----Original Message-----
From: BIC-Geneva [mailto:bic@geneva.bic.org]
Sent: Friday, January 28, 2000 8:14 PM
To: Russian Federation (NSA) (E-mail)
Subject: Commission on Human Rights, 56th Session

29 January 2000

To: The National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the Russian
Federation.

Dear Baha'i Friends,

Last year the Commission on Human Rights and the General Assembly both
adopted strong resolutions on the human rights situation in Iran with
specific mention of the Baha'is. We are very gratified that the
resolutions again called for the Baha'is in Iran to be "completely
emancipated".

We are now preparing our participation in the 56th Session of the United
Nations Commission on Human Rights, to be held in Geneva from 20 March to
28 April 2000, and we would like to request your valuable assistance. The
Commission will consider once more the situation of human rights in Iran.
This year, your country is a member of the Commission on Human Rights and
we are asking you to provide the appropriate officials with the latest
information on the persecution of the Baha'is in Iran.

The question of the persecution of the Baha'is in the Islamic Republic of
Iran has remained on the agenda of the Commission on Human Rights since
1982. This is partly due to the efforts of many National and Regional
Spiritual Assemblies, for which we are very grateful. Each year since 1982
the Commission has adopted a resolution on the human rights situation in
Iran which expresses concern for the Baha'is.

However, recently the number of votes supporting the resolution has
decreased. This is due to the election of President Khatami and the less
conservative approach that his government is seen as having.
Representatives of the Iranian government are contacting foreign
ministries with the message that the situation in Iran has greatly
improved. As you know, this is not the case as far as the situation of the
Baha'is is concerned. The news that we receive from Iran indicates that
there is no improvement whatsoever and Baha'is remain subject to death
condemnations, arbitrary detention and a wide range of persecution and
discrimination solely on religious grounds.

It is, therefore, important that the Commission once again adopt a strong
resolution which would show concern for the situation of the Baha'is in
Iran.

We, therefore, urge your National Spiritual Assembly to visit officials in
the Foreign Ministry of your government as soon as possible and certainly
before the end of February. The attached "Current Situation of the Baha'is
in Iran" will provide you with the latest and comprehensive information.
This document should also be shared with your government officials. Here
are some points that you might wish to stress during your encounter:

(a) The Baha'is in Iran are persecuted solely on the grounds of their
religious beliefs.

(b) Mr. Ruhu'llah Rawhani was executed in 1998; four Baha'is are, at the
moment, under a death sentence and a total of 15 are imprisoned.

(c) Baha'is are committed as a matter of faith to non-violence, loyalty and
obedience to their government. They, therefore, pose no threat to the
Iranian government and simply wish that their rights under the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights be upheld.

(d) Baha'is still have no protection under the law. It is, therefore,
reasonable to suppose that more violent forms of persecution may resume if
the international community were to cease paying attention to the Baha'i
case.

(e) The recommendations of the Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance
concerning the Baha'is, which were taken up by the Special Representative
on Iran, should be fully implemented.

(f) The seriousness of the situation of the Baha'is, as reflected in the
"Current Situation of the Baha'is in Iran", warrants the continued
monitoring of the international community, and therefore action once again
by the Commission on Human Rights.

(g) Although your country abstained from voting at the 1999 meetings of the
Commission on Human Rights and the General Assembly, it voted in favour of
the resolution at the 1998 meeting of the Commission. Your National
Spiritual Assembly ardently appeals to the government to revert to
supporting a resolution on the human rights situation in the Islamic
Republic of Iran at the 56th Session of the Commission on Human Rights.
This resolution should express strong concern over the persecutions of the
Baha'is in that country.

(h) Your National Spiritual Assembly would like to thank your government
for its kind attention in this regard.

We are, once again, extremely grateful for your valuable assistance in
bringing to the attention of your government the situation of the Baha'is
in Iran. We will be sure to share with you any further relevant
information that might become available. May we request that your National
Spiritual Assembly kindly keep our Geneva office informed of any action
undertaken in this regard.

With loving Baha'i greetings,

Diane `Ala'i
Representative to the United Nations

Enclosures: Current Situation of the Baha'is in Iran, January 2000
Commission on Human Rights Resolution 1999/13