{"id":1535,"date":"2020-01-27T15:38:16","date_gmt":"2020-01-27T15:38:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.iransos.com\/en\/?p=1535"},"modified":"2020-01-27T15:38:24","modified_gmt":"2020-01-27T15:38:24","slug":"unrecognized-minorities-in-iran-must-now-hide-religion-to-obtain-crucial-government-id","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.iransos.com\/en\/?p=1535","title":{"rendered":"Unrecognized Minorities in Iran Must Now Hide Religion to Obtain Crucial Government ID \u00a0 \u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"New Rule Strengthens Long-Standing Discrimination Against Persecuted Religious Minorities, Especially Bahai\u2019s<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

January 27, 2020 \u2013 In a new rule that severely discriminates against all unrecognized minority religions in Iran, the state-issued National Identity Card\u2014which is required for almost all government and other transactions\u2014will only allow citizens to register as one of the country\u2019s recognized religions.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

This means anyone applying for the card who is not of the official Muslim faith or one of three religious minorities recognized in the Iranian Constitution (Christianity, Judaism or Zoroastrianism) will have to either lie and check the required box on the application for one of those religions\u2014or not receive the card.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith this new rule, the Iranian government is effectively stripping many religious minorities in the country of their basic rights and access to the most fundamental services as citizens,\u201d said Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI).<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is severe and undisguised discrimination and a flagrant violation of Iranian and international law that should be widely condemned by the international community,\u201d Ghaemi added.<\/p>\n

The card is used for all government services, banking activities and the vast majority of other transactions in Iran. It will blatantly discriminate against Baha\u2019is<\/a> as well as members of the Mandaean, Yarsani and other unrecognized minority faiths in the country.<\/p>\n

New Rule Followed Complaints by MPs<\/strong><\/p>\n

Previously, the application for Iran\u2019s National Identify Card, which requires citizens to register their religion, allowed applicants to check a box that was designated \u201cOther\u201d for religion.<\/p>\n

However, in January 2019, Javad Abtahi, a conservative MP representing the city of Khomeinishahr in Isfahan Province, wrote to Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, demanding the \u201cOther\u201d option be removed from the National Identity Card application. By offering the \u201cOther\u201d option, the Interior Ministry had \u201clegitimized\u201d religious beliefs not recognized by the Constitution, such as the Baha\u2019i faith, Abtahi said. (See here for a copy of Abtahi\u2019s letter<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

On January 22, 2020, the prominent civil rights activist Bahareh Hedayat, who was imprisoned for her peaceful rights activism and only released after the UN ruled<\/a> her imprisonment \u201carbitrary\u201d and demanded her release, tweeted<\/a> a reply from the National Organization For Civil Registration to a Baha\u2019i citizen\u2019s complaint about the omission of the \u201cOther\u201d option: \u201cDear citizen, we wish you health. The law neither recognizes your religion nor offers a solution [for this issue]. You may submit your application under existing options.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rouhani\u2019s Interior Ministry Decision Violates Iranian and International Law<\/strong><\/p>\n

Member of Parliament Abtahi\u2019s reference to the Baha\u2019is in his remarks about the National Identity Card are consistent with long-standing state preoccupation with the Baha\u2019i community. While all religious minorities, both recognized and unrecognized, experience discrimination in Shia Muslim-dominated Iran, the Baha\u2019i faith has been particularly singled out<\/a> for persecution by the Islamic Republic.<\/p>\n

Former head of Iran\u2019s High Council for Human Rights, Mohammad Javad Larijani, responded<\/a> to questions on Iran\u2019s persecution of the Bah\u00e1\u2019\u00ed community raised by numerous states during the 2014 UN Universal Periodic Review by claiming \u201cBah\u00e1\u2019\u00eds \u2026enjoy all the privileges of any citizen in Iran.\u201d Yet Baha\u2019i leaders are imprisoned<\/a>, and those who openly follow the faith are routinely denied university education<\/a> and employment, while members of the community have seen their businesses shut down<\/a> and land confiscated by the state.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, President Hassan Rouhani, whose signature Citizens Rights Charter<\/a> explicitly refers to the \u201cprinciples of non-discrimination and equality of all individuals and groups before the law, irrespective of gender, ethnicity, religion and socio-political affiliations\u201d has remained silent on this new violation, and it is his Interior Ministry that issues the National Identity Cards.<\/p>\n

The new rule is in direct violation of multiple articles of the Iranian Constitution<\/a> and violates international covenants<\/a> to which Iran is a signatory.<\/p>\n

Article 19<\/a> of the Iranian Constitution stipulates that \u201cAll people of Iran, whatever the ethnic group or tribe to which they belong, enjoy equal rights; and color, race, language, and the like, do not bestow any privilege.\u201d Article 20<\/a> states that \u201cAll citizens of the country, both men and women, equally enjoy the protection of the law and enjoy all human, political, economic, social, and cultural rights, while Article 23<\/a> stipulates that \u201cthe investigation of individuals\u2019 beliefs is forbidden, and no one may be molested or taken to task simply for holding a certain belief.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights<\/a> (ICCPR) requires freedom of religion and stipulates that<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one shall be subject to coercion which would impair his freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice.\u201d<\/p>\n

The new rule affects all new applicants, as cards already issued that have not expired will still be accepted, and anyone who has lost their card and needs a replacement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New Rule Strengthens Long-Standing Discrimination Against Persecuted Religious Minorities, Especially Bahai\u2019s January 27, 2020 \u2013 In a new rule that severely discriminates against all unrecognized minority religions in Iran, the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[268,492],"class_list":["post-1535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-human-rights","tag-bahai-discrimination","tag-national-identity-card"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iransos.com\/en\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iransos.com\/en\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iransos.com\/en\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iransos.com\/en\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iransos.com\/en\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1535"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.iransos.com\/en\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1535\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1536,"href":"https:\/\/www.iransos.com\/en\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1535\/revisions\/1536"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iransos.com\/en\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iransos.com\/en\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iransos.com\/en\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}