UN Human Rights Council Extends Mandate Of UN Special Rapporteur On Iran And The UN Fact Finding Mission

Yesterday, the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted a resolution condemning Iran’s ongoing human rights violations, including the persecution of the Bahá’ís, the country’s largest non-Muslim religious minority. The resolution extends the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran and renews, for the third year in a row, Independent International Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) on the Islamic Republic of Iran, whilst widening the mandate of the FFM to investigate all human rights violations and no longer only those related to the 2022 uprisings.

Adopted with 24 votes in favor, 8 against, and 15 abstentions, the resolution reflects the widening concerns of the international community for human rights in Iran. It underscores Iran’s ongoing failure to address grave concerns raised by UN experts and human rights organizations, reinforcing the need for sustained international pressure.

The resolution denounces Iran’s “systematic discrimination, arbitrary detentions, and violations of religious freedom,” calling on the government to cease its repression of ethnic and religious minorities. By specifically identifying “unrecognized religious minorities,” the resolution ensures that the case of the Iranian Bahá’ís, excluded from recognition under Iran’s constitution, is covered under the mandates of the UN Special Rapporteur and the FFM, including crimes against humanity and systemic discrimination, as well as ongoing persecutory conduct against women and girls.

“The fact that the international community has in one voice adopted two international mechanisms for three years in a row, in addition to the annual resolution at the UN General Assembly, shows the true gravity of the human rights violations taking place in Iran.” says Simin Fahandej, Representative of the Baha'i International Community's United Nations Office in Geneva. “Iran’s shameful treatment and abuse of its own citizens for their beliefs, in full and utter contradiction of its human rights obligations internationally, is now apparent in plain sight, undeniable by any fair observer.”

During the session, Brazil expressed concern over ongoing human rights violations in Iran, including the persecution of women and girls, human rights defenders, and religious and ethnic minorities. The representative stated: “We remain concerned by reports of human rights violations against women and girls, human rights defenders, and religious and ethnic minorities. We reiterate our support for the rights of religious minorities, including Bahá’ís, to practice their faith freely and without any discrimination.”

In the joint interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur and the Fact-Finding Mission on Iran that took place ahead of the session, six countries mentioned the Bahá’ís in their statement. The United Kingdom stated that “Religious minorities continue to face systematic, systemic targeting and repression”, adding that “The past year has seen an escalation in the arrest and detention of Bahá’í women as authorities seek to repress their religious identity and autonomy as women”. Ireland condemned “the continued discrimination and oppression of minority groups in Iran…especially those of the Bahá’í Faith who face limits in realising the right to education and access to legal representation.”

North Macedonia emphasized the importance of the renewal of the two mandates for ongoing investigations of human rights violations in Iran “including the systemic persecution of the Bahá’í community”. Costa Rica, on behalf of 45 states, spoke of the “intentional and systematic oppression” of the Baha’is, while Luxembourg expressed concern over “the forms of multiple and intersectional discrimination suffered by women belonging to ethnic and religious minorities, notably women of the Bahá’í Faith”. Canada too expressed alarmed about the “ongoing persecution and structural discrimination of religious and ethnic minorities, notably the Bahá’í[s]”.

The international response to recent resolutions on Iran’s human rights record remains strong as the intersection of religious and gender-based persecution continues to be a grave concern, particularly as Iranian authorities increasingly target Bahá’í women.

The resolution on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran was voted in favour by the following countries:

Albania, Belgium, Benin, Bulgaria, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Czechia, Dominican Republic, France, Germany, Iceland, Japan, Malawi, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Republic of Korea, Romania, Spain, Switzerland.

The resolution expresses deep concern over "discrimination and violence on the basis of thought, conscience, religion and belief, including against persons belonging to recognized and unrecognized religious or belief minorities" and calls on Iran to "eliminate, in law and in practice, all forms of discrimination and violence" against these groups.

Background

The Bahá’í community, Iran’s largest religious minority, has faced relentless state-sponsored persecution since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Denied recognition under the Iranian Constitution, Bahá’ís are systematically deprived of fundamental rights under a secret 1991 memorandum signed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. Bahá’ís are arbitrarily arrested, imprisoned, and tortured, with an increasing number of women targeted. A recent report by former UN Special Rapporteur on Iran, Javaid Rehman, described this persecution as occurring with “genocidal intent,” while a new Human Rights Watch report classified it as amounting to a “crime against humanity of persecution.”

Recent developments

Over the past weeks in which the 58th Human Rights Council Session has taken place, we have heard powerful statements from Special Rapporteurs and human rights organizations detailing Iran’s escalating crackdown on religious minorities. The resolution builds on recent findings from reports by the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Nazila Ghanea, and Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran, Mai Sato, both of which highlight the worsening repression of Bahá’ís and other religious minorities. These reports document an intensification of state-led persecution, including arbitrary arrests, legal harassment, and systemic discrimination.

In Mai Sato’s report (A/HRC/58/62), she underscores the systematic persecution of Bahá’ís, citing at least 20 instances of arbitrary arrest, the targeting of women, denial of education, and economic repression. She highlights that access to higher education and employment remains severely restricted for Bahá’ís, as universities are instructed to expel Bahá’í students upon identification, while mandatory religious declarations and restrictions on entrance exams effectively bar them from pursuing higher education. This exclusion extends to employment, where legal frameworks prevent Bahá’ís from public-sector jobs, professional licensing, and business operations—often accompanied by property confiscation and forced evictions.

Sato also raises alarm over the intensifying persecution of Bahá’í women, calling attention to the intersectional discrimination they face, where their religious identity compounds existing gender-based oppression. Her report notes that two-thirds of all imprisoned Bahá’ís in Iran are women, many of whom are held without due process or in unknown locations. In March 2024 alone, 72 of the 93 Bahá’ís summoned to court or imprisoned were women, including mothers separated from their children. While Iran claims that Bahá’ís enjoy full citizenship rights, authorities have sentenced 10 Bahá’í women in Isfahan to a combined 90 years in prison, along with fines, travel bans, and asset confiscations. The Special Rapporteur warns that vague charges such as “threats to national security” and “propaganda against the state” are being used to justify such persecution, creating a chilling effect on the entire Bahá’í community.

Meanwhile, Nazila Ghanea, the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, highlights in her report (A/HRC/58/49) highlights Iran’s blatant denial and misrepresentation of its persecution of Bahá’ís, particularly regarding burial rights and cemetery desecrations. Following the report’s release at the 58th UN Human Rights Council Session, an Iranian representative falsely claimed that land allocation for private cemeteries follows national regulations ensuring equitable access. This statement attempted to deflect from well-documented discrimination, including forcing Bahá’ís to bury their loved ones on mass grave sites.

In a direct response, Professor Ghanea exposed Iran’s misleading claims, stressing that the persecution of Bahá’ís extends far beyond burial restrictions and includes decades of systematic oppression. “Hundreds of Bahá’í cemeteries throughout Iran have been destroyed, burnt, and bulldozed over decades. Bahá’í burials have been needlessly delayed due to groundless and cynical impediments raised by the authorities,” Ghanea stated.

In the past 12 months alone, Bahá’í cemeteries in at least 14 major Iranian cities have faced either desecration or other interference in their operations by the government. Intelligence agents have forcibly taken over cemetery management, forcing Bahá’ís to pay fees for burials on their own land and, in some cases, denying Bahá’ís the right to bury their loved ones in accordance with their religious practices.

These injustices have occurred in cemeteries across Iran, including in Tehran, Karaj, Shiraz, Ahvaz, Kermanshah, Kerman, Yazd, Semnan, Mashhad, and Rafsanjan.

Both reports from Mai Sato and Nazila Ghanea share common themes. They underscore how Iran contradicts itself by denying that Bahá’ís lack civil liberties, highlight the urgent need for international accountability, and call for stronger legal protections to address compounding human rights violations.

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