Response to interpellation 2023/24:668 on the persecution of Baha'is in Iran
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
The debate concerns the persecution of Bahais and other minorities in Iran. M argues that the situation for human rights is very serious 1. The government works through the EU and the UN to influence Iran and has participated in resolutions highlighting the vulnerable situation of the Bahais 2. M emphasizes that the EU has tightened its sanctions against persons responsible for violations 2. S argues that the Bahais are subjected to systematic discrimination and human rights violations by the theocratic regime 3 4. S emphasizes that the Bahais' rights are deprived in all aspects, including education and work 4. S wants Sweden to continue its commitment to human rights 5.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Utrikesministern Tobias Billström (M)
Madam Speaker! Kadir Kasirga has asked me whether I and the government intend to, through the EU and the UN, urge Iran to stop the discrimination and persecution of Bahais and other minorities, and what possible ways I see that the government can use to influence Iran when it comes to precisely the treatment of Bahais and other minorities.
Let me first agree with the interpellator that the situation for human rights in Iran continues to be very serious. This applies particularly to women and girls, ethnic and religious minorities and not least Bahais, which is also highlighted in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs' report on human rights, democracy and the rule of law principles in Iran. As I have stated in several previous interpellation debates and question-and-answer sessions, I share Kadir Kasirga's concern over the situation in Iran.
When it comes to the possible paths we can use to influence Iran regarding the lack of respect for human rights, it is precisely through the EU and the UN that Sweden actively acts to ensure as broad an impact as possible for our messages and for the measures being taken.
The Government regularly raises the situation for human rights, including rights for persons belonging to ethnic and religious minorities, in our bilateral contacts with Iran at various levels. Sweden also continues to work within the EU for a powerful and united Iran policy to provide international support for the Iranian population's legitimate demands for human rights.
Kadir Kasirga (S)
Madam Speaker! First and foremost, I would like to thank Foreign Minister Tobias Billström for the answer to my interpellation concerning the situation of the Bahais in Iran. We humans are born equal, it is said, but it is perhaps our differences that beautify this planet and create both dynamics and nuance.
We Swedes live in the part of the world where we, with our differences, can live side by side. We live in a democracy where we respect each other's backgrounds and have the right to express ourselves freely without being persecuted, harassed, or killed by the state.
Madam Speaker! That is why we also become upset and take a stand when, for example, people who express their opinions or political parties or groups are attacked by non-democratic forces. We who safeguard democracy and the right to express ourselves freely will, of course, react. Many of us also come from a background where we have seen how democracy has been eroded and rights taken away, one by one. The result of this we see, for example, in Russia, Turkey, and Iran.
Madam Speaker! For over four decades, the people in Iran have been oppressed and persecuted by a theocratic, Islamist regime - a regime that has ambitions to spread its ideology globally. In that work, the regime has no place for dissent or diversity. The regime's policy is to reshape people to become slaves and follow the directives from the Islamist republic. No exceptions are made.
For this purpose, the regime has various instruments of oppression directed against groups that attempt to assert their independence or their religious or cultural background. This also includes, as the Foreign Minister says in his response, women and girls, and they are particularly vulnerable to the regime's persecution.
Other groups that are oppressed and persecuted are the ethnic minorities, such as the Baloch and Kurds. But there is one more group that unfortunately often ends up in the shadows and is persecuted and subjected to systematic discrimination, namely religious minorities. One particular religious minority group is the Baha'is in Iran.
According to Human Rights Watch's newly published report from April 1, Iranian authorities deprive Bahais of their fundamental rights in all aspects of life, not because of their actions but simply because they belong to this group. Human Rights Watch argues in the report that Iran's 45-year-long, systematic oppression of Bahais in the country is equivalent to crimes against humanity.
The persecution of Baha'is is part of a larger picture of systematic oppression in Iran, which includes oppression of other religious and ethnic minorities, political dissidents and women. Iran is therefore in breach of its obligations under international law, including the UN Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, of which Iran is a party.
Madam Speaker! I would like to ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he sees any other prospects for doing anything more to urge Iran to respect the Baha'is' right to their own faith.
Utrikesministern Tobias Billström (M)
Madam Speaker! The EU is our most important platform for Iran policy. In recent years, we have seen a significant tightening of the EU's Iran policy due to precisely those violations of human rights that have occurred in Iran, as Kadir Kasirga mentions. Not least the situation for ethnic and religious minorities has continued to be very difficult; I completely share the interpellant's view on this.
The EU has acted resolutely, not least through joint statements and also continuously tightened sanctions against Iran. The Council has, on ten occasions since the autumn of 2022, expanded the sanction lists of persons and organizations who bear direct responsibility for human rights violations in Iran. The sanction packages have resulted in the number of listings doubling, and it is now over 270 individuals and entities that have been listed under the EU's sanctions regime due to the human rights situation in Iran.
The MR-sanctions, which is the technical term for sanctions on the grounds of violations of human rights, consist of freezing of assets in the EU and, for the listed individuals, also entry bans into the EU. They also include an export ban to Iran for products that could be used for domestic repression.
The EU is continuously reviewing the tools available to counter Iran's actions in as effective a way as possible.
Kadir Kasirga (S)
Madam Speaker! Thank you for the answer, Minister for Foreign Affairs! It is of course pleasing to hear that Sweden is raising these issues in an EU context. It is important that these issues are also raised in a UN context, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs states in his answer that Sweden does so.
The Baha'is in Iran constitute the country's largest non-Muslim minority and are, according to the UN, the most persecuted minority there. The community was hit very hard in the years after the Islamist revolution, when hundreds were arrested and executed.
During recent years, when Iranian authorities have brutally suppressed extensive protests demanding fundamental political, economic, and social change in the country, the authorities have also targeted Bahais.
Late last year, in 2023, 60 Bahais were deprived of their liberty. Among those deprived of liberty was also the 90-year-old Jamaladdin Khanjani, who has previously spent ten years in prison because of his Baha'i faith. Another person who has been deprived of liberty is the well-known, prize-winning poet and author Mahvash Sabet, who was sentenced to ten years in prison. The harsh oppression and persecution of especially Bahais continues from the side of the Islamic authorities.
The Islamic Republic only recognizes Shia Islam as the state religion. Baha'is are considered heretics and spies connected to Israel. The fact that some of the Baha'is' historical shrines are located in Haifa in northern Israel is presented as a justification for the persecution and oppression against Baha'is.
Madam Speaker! Iranian authorities have systematically deprived the Bahá'ís of their fundamental rights. The Islamist regime has denied the Bahá'ís their right to freedom of religion and political representation. They have arbitrarily arrested and prosecuted members of the Bahá'í community because of their faith.
The authorities also routinely obstruct the Bahá'ís' right to education, employment, property, and even a dignified burial. It is an apartheid-like persecution against the Bahá'ís that is ongoing in Iran.
The Islamic Republic's oppression of Bahais, especially after 1979, is enshrined in Iranian law and is official government policy. The country's repressive laws and policies are meticulously upheld by the country's notorious security forces, for example, the Revolutionary Guard. Here in the chamber, we Social Democrats have pushed for the Revolutionary Guard to be blacklisted, and the Swedish Riksdag has now stood behind this.
Madam Speaker! I also want to ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs how he perceives the support in the EU and in the UN when it comes to actively driving the issue of the situation of the Bahá'ís towards Iran.
Utrikesministern Tobias Billström (M)
Madam Speaker! Thank you, Kadir Kasirga, for good and interesting observations regarding the development. Let me begin by answering the question about the EU. The EU continues to take a clear stand against Iran. The best example that answers Kadir Kasirga's question is that in December 2022, sharply formulated council conclusions on Iran were adopted, which constituted a clear shift in position regarding the EU's relationship with Iran. Sweden and the EU also act actively within the UN together with other like-minded countries to highlight the vulnerable situation regarding human rights in Iran, not least for ethnic and religious minorities.
In the resolution on Iran in the third committee of the UN General Assembly this autumn, which all EU member states, including Sweden, supported as co-sponsors, the particularly vulnerable situation of the Baha'i minority was raised. In the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva in March, the situation for ethnic and religious minorities in Iran was raised in both Sweden's and the EU's respective statements in the general debate under agenda item 4. Agenda item 4 therefore deals with the most serious countries and situations regarding human rights globally.
The situation was also raised in statements within and through the Nordic-Baltic circle and in the EU in several forums that focused specifically on Iran, for example, the interactive dialogue with the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran, Javaid Rehman, and the interactive dialogue with the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Iran. The Investigative Mechanism was appointed at the special session on Iran in the UN Human Rights Council, which was convened in November 2022, among other things at Sweden's request.
Sweden was also a co-sponsor of the resolution on Iran at the UN Human Rights Council in March. The resolution welcomed the special rapporteur's report, which describes in detail the appalling situation that the interpellor has just accounted for for ethnic and religious minorities and specifically mentions the Baha'is, and extended the mandates of both the special rapporteur and the independent fact-finding mechanism.
Kadir Kasirga (S)
Madam Speaker! I would really like to thank the Minister for Foreign Affairs for the debate and for the fact that we in the Swedish Riksdag today have highlighted the persecutions against Bahais in Iran. We Social Democrats will follow the situation of the Bahais and think it is important not to let issues regarding minorities such as the Bahais fall into the shadows.
I also want to thank the Swedish Baha'i community for their brave and tireless work in informing us Swedish politicians about the situation of their coreligionists in Iran and in the Middle East.
Madam Speaker! We may be a small country in the corner of Northern Europe's periphery, but Sweden has been a major actor when it comes to the fight for human rights. It is important that Sweden's commitment to human rights continues. Sweden's voice is valuable and contributes to sending a strong signal about the importance of observing human rights, including an end to the persecution of the Baha'is in Iran.
Utrikesministern Tobias Billström (M)
Madam Speaker! Let me also thank the interpellor Kadir Kasirga for the interpellation. Let me also turn to the Baha'i group that is represented here in the gallery today and say that the government continues to work actively to support the Iranians who are fighting for their human rights. The world's task is, as the government sees it, to show support for the population in Iran, who demand respect for their human rights, and to set clear demands on the Iranian regime. It is this that we need to continue to do.
We must never lose focus on the people who are most affected by the ongoing human rights violations. The Government continues to monitor the developments in Iran closely together with other EU and international partners. We continue to consider all available tools and possible measures to influence Iran's actions and support the Iranian people's legitimate demands for human rights.
The situation for the Bahá'ís in the Middle East, including Iran, is also closely monitored by Sweden's envoy for interreligious and intercultural dialogue within the framework of the cooperation in the international alliance for religious and belief freedom, IRFBA. Finally, I would like to say once again that I welcome that there continues to be such a strong commitment and such attention in the Riksdag and in Sweden for the serious situation in Iran.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.