To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will raise the issue of freedom of religious conscience in Iran with his counterpart in the Iranian government; and if he will make a statement. (184243)

We continue to be very concerned by the treatment of religious minorities in Iran—in particular the Bahá'í and Christian communities and converts from Islam. We have made clear to the Iranian authorities on many occasions that we believe persecution of individuals on the grounds of their ethnicity or religious beliefs is unacceptable.

The UN General Assembly passed a resolution about the human rights situation in Iran in December last year, expressing very serious concern about increasing discrimination against religious and other minorities in Iran, including Christians, Jews, Sufis, Sunni Muslims and Bahá'í. The UK, through the EU, co-sponsored this resolution.

We will continue to raise concerns about the treatment of religious minorities with the Iranian authorities through the EU and bilaterally, and press the Iranian authorities to take seriously their international human rights obligations and uphold the right to freedom of religion and belief as described in Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (to which Iran is a state party).

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the religious freedom of the minority Báha’í community in Iran. (184244)

We continue to be very concerned by the treatment of religious minorities in Iran, including Bahá’ís.

The Bahá’í faith is not recognised under the Iranian constitution and as a result Bahá’í routinely face discrimination and persecution. In recent years Bahá’í have been subject to arbitrary arrests, confiscation of property and restrictions on employment. Bahá’í students have not been able to access higher education unless they deny their faith or accept that it is incorrectly recorded on official university forms.

The UN General Assembly passed a resolution about the human rights situation in Iran in December last year, expressing very serious concern about increasing discrimination against religious and other minorities in Iran, including in particular

“attacks on Bahá’ís and their faith in state-sponsored media, increasing evidence of efforts by the state to identify and monitor Bahá’ís and prevention of the Bahá’í faith from attending university and from sustaining themselves economically”.

The UK, through the EU, co-sponsored this resolution.