Bruce Baird (Cook, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the House:

(1)

notes the serious discrimination that exists in Iran towards Baha’is, Assyrians, Chaldeans and Serbo Mandaeans;

(2)

calls on Iran to recognise the legitimate rights of minorities involving their access to university training and enrolment in professions; and

(3)

requests the United Nations Human Rights Commission to undertake dialogue with Iran over their continued human rights concerns in that country.

Some two years ago I visited Iran as part of the Trade Subcommittee’s visit to look at trade and investment opportunities in Iran. I must say that we were all particularly impressed. It is a wonderful country with very friendly people, and we certainly appreciated the facilitation by the ambassador here in Canberra. There is no doubt, however, that the government remains seriously concerned by the human rights situation in Iran.

Iran must do more to promote and protect the human rights of its people. We have urged them to do so and will continue to urge them to do so. The government is in particular concerned by the ongoing harassment, intimidation and persecution of religious and ethnic groups. These include groups that are not recognised under the Iranian constitution as official religions. Three religions are recognised: Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians are the only ones that are allowed to pursue their faith. Even with those groups there are particular concerns.

Think of the case of Hamid Pourmand, who was a serving colonel in the Iranian army. He was arrested five months ago under the laws of the Islamic revolution which prohibit non-Muslims from holding officer rank. He was charged with deceiving the armed forces by not declaring he was a convert from Islam to Christianity. This was in spite of the fact that he had in his possession a series of documents indicating that his military superiors had acknowledged years ago that he was a Christian.

The verdict was the court did not accept these documents. He had to return to his home town to face charges of apostasy and proselytism before an Islamic court. The sentence automatically discharged him from the army, cutting off his regular income and eliminating nearly 20 years of military pension. The verdict also required his family to vacate their home in military lodgings within a few days, and Pourmand’s wife and two children face destitution as a result. He is a Christian, which is one of the groups that is allowed to practise their religion. So what of those who are not allowed to practise their religion? We have outlined those groups in the motion today.

In Iran today, ethnic and religious minorities are systematically discriminated against in relation to their economic, social and cultural rights. Iran is a signatory to various international treaties in this area and is party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the international Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. This latter convention requires the immediate prohibition of discrimination against minorities and explicitly requires free choice of employment, housing and education, equal access to social services and equal participation in cultural activities.

There is no doubt that Iran is failing to comply with these international obligations. In fact, half of the Iranian population are from minority groups. There is an array of discriminatory laws and practices, including the confiscation of land and property; banning from state employment; restrictions on social, cultural, linguistic and religious freedoms; blatantly unfair criminal trials before revolutionary courts; the use of the death penalty, even on minors; restrictions on movements; and the denial of various other civil rights.

In July 2004 the UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing reported on the critical situation facing Iran’s minorities in this area. He observed in his preliminary findings that minorities in Iran were subject to discrimination in the distribution of state resources such as housing provision. Access to water and sanitation is distinctly worse in the areas of the country where these minorities reside. Followers of unrecognised religions such as Baha’i, Ahl-e Haqq and Mandaean are forbidden from practising their beliefs.

There is particular discrimination against Baha’is, and that discrimination is a particularly alarming example of the attitude towards minorities in Iran. The Baha’i community has told of increases in oppression and state condoned cruelty since the change of government. There have been reports of attacks by unidentified assailants, vandalism, destruction of holy sites and government confiscation of property. At least 32 Baha’i are known to have been detained since the election of the current president. We call on the government of Iran to allow religious freedom in this state.

Dick Adams (Lyons, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Judi Moylan (Pearce, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion.

Maria Vamvakinou (Calwell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to join my colleague the member for Cook in speaking to this motion on the violation of human rights in Iran. Iran is often, and is currently, in the international spotlight given the intense international pressure it continues to face over its nuclear enrichment program. But today I want to draw attention to Iran’s record on human rights, which continues to be of grave concern, especially its treatment of ethnic and religious minority groups, women and those whom the state labels as political dissidents. Cases of regular human rights abuses in Iran are well documented and have been for some time. Many examples exist of ethnic and religious minorities facing institutionalised discrimination and persecution in Iran. Though the Iranian government may insist otherwise, it is evident that such persecution is both government sanctioned and official government policy.

Iran has the largest Baha’i community found anywhere in the world, yet Baha’ism is omitted from the list of recognised religions in Iran’s constitution. Baha’ism is seen by the Iranian authorities as a deviant and misguided sect, and Baha’is are regularly subject to harassment and discrimination carried out by the state either in the name of stamping out heresy and religious deviancy or under the auspices that Baha’is serve as Israel’s proxy force in Iran.

Since 1983, Baha’i assemblies have been banned in Iran, and participation in Baha’i activities remains liable to prosecution. Over the last two years there has been an increase in Baha’i property and land confiscations by the state and an increase in the number of Baha’i leaders who have been arrested and detained without charge. In addition, for Iran’s Baha’i community, institutionalised discrimination has seen a ban on access to higher education, the denial of inheritance rights, the withholding of business and property licences and continuing discrimination in the workplace—measures that are designed to slowly strangle the Baha’i community in Iran.

Christians are also subject to discrimination and state persecution in Iran. They include members of the Protestant church and the Assyro-Chaldean and Armenian Orthodox churches. Whilst the Assyrian community in Iran has some autonomy in determining its own internal state of affairs, Assyrian Iranians face discrimination in institutions that exist outside their communities’ control, especially at the lower levels of public courts.

Other minorities that face differing degrees of discrimination and/or active persecution in Iran include Sunni Muslims, who make up Iran’s largest religious minority. Most Kurds and Turkmen are Sunni Muslims. Sunni Kurds have seen their aspirations for greater autonomy and respect for their rights to religious freedom denied, and clashes between the Iranian military and the armed Kurdish insurgency have often resulted in the deaths of innocent civilians and the razing of Kurdish villages.

In Iran, political opposition to the state is still outlawed and political opposition groups are often met with force or intimidation. Severe restrictions on freedom of expression and opinion still exist. Instances of torture and ill-treatment in detention are still rife, and the Iranian authorities are still able to act with relative impunity, given the absence of both an independent media in Iran and the mechanisms necessary to monitor and investigate human rights abuses.

The rights of women are of particular concern to me. Disturbing cases continue to emerge of female victims of sexual abuse and rape who have been sentenced to death for the crime of sexual promiscuity, and just in June of this year hundreds of women’s rights activists were violently assaulted by Iranian police during a peaceful demonstration on the streets of Tehran.

The key obstacle to human rights in Iran remains its clerical elite, whose authority still overrides Iran’s national law, including the human rights protections contained in Iran’s constitution. Iran’s repeated failure to meet basic human rights standards remains its greatest failing as a member of the international community, and this failure only exacerbates the international scrutiny that Iran currently faces.

Human rights law establishes a universal standard intended to protect the lives and welfare of ordinary people. Unlike so much of international law, human rights law effectively bypasses the nation-state and speaks directly to the people, regardless of where they may live. Like anyone else, Iranians have an inalienable right to demand the protections promised to them under international law.

Judi Moylan (Pearce, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank my colleague the member for Cook for moving this motion and giving me as well as the member for Calwell an opportunity to express some concerns. I had the opportunity to meet with representatives of the Baha’i community in my electorate not so long ago. I think it is of great concern, as the member for Cook said, that certain religions are officially allowed to be practised in Iran but that even for those people practising religion is a very risky business. For those who are not followers of approved religions the risks are of course much higher. The discrimination against the Baha’is is a particularly alarming example of concerning attitudes toward minorities in Iran.

The Baha’i community has told us of increases in oppression and state condoned cruelty since the change of government took place. Reports included attacks by unidentified assailants, vandalism and destruction of holy sites and the government confiscation of property, and these are in addition to the Baha’is being denied equal rights to work and basic standards of living. They are even unable to access employment benefits or pensions. The concerns are great, and the Australian government remains seriously concerned by the rising rate of human rights abuses taking place in Iran. Iran is a great and ancient nation, so I am sure it must be of concern to many of the people there as well.

The Australian government continues to urge Iran to do more to promote and protect the human rights of its people. There is particular concern about the ongoing harassment, intimidation and persecution of all religious and ethnic groups, including groups not recognised under the Iranian constitution. Australia has a strong track record of standing up for the rights of persecuted groups in Iran and it remains active in making representations to Iran on a range of human rights issues as well as on individual cases of concern.

In December 2005 Australia cosponsored a UN General Assembly resolution on the human rights situation in Iran. The resolution expressed serious concern at the continuing discrimination in Iran against ethnic and religious minorities recognised or otherwise under the Iranian constitution. Further, the cosponsored resolution made specific mention of human rights violations against the followers of the Baha’i faith, including the denial of freedom of religion, destruction of sites of religious importance and the suspension of social, educational and community related activities. In line with the United Nations General Assembly resolution 60/171, Australia calls on Iran to eliminate in law and in practice all forms of discrimination based on religious, ethnic or linguistic grounds.

Iran’s treatment of minority groups has been highlighted as unsatisfactory by successive UN reports. A recent report of the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief indicated that Iranian authorities were stepping up their persecution of the Baha’i community, hence the visit to my electorate by Baha’i representatives in Australia, and I am sure they have visited many other members of parliament with their concerns for their families and friends who remain in Iran. In 2005 the UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing concluded that land confiscation by the Iranian government disproportionately impacted on the land and property of minorities.

I would also like to support the words of the member for Calwell in relation to women. I think there remain particular concerns for the plight of women in Iran. We call on the Iranian government to make some important changes to ensure that the rights of all people, particularly those of different ethnicity and different religions, be respected.

Laurie Ferguson (Reid, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Consumer Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In the very week that the IAEA has exposed the realities of more highly enriched uranium in Iran—and I stress the IAEA, not the United States administration—we deal with another aspect of the Iranian regime. I join with other speakers in expressing concern about oppression of religious minorities in the country. The main focus, because of their activity in Australia, is the situation for the Baha’is. In my electorate, the Holroyd Group is extremely active in raising these issues and, more broadly, in supporting a number of United Nations conventions. Similarly, the Mandaeans have been closely associated with me regarding a significant number of refugee claims over the years. That situation, as one of the earlier speakers noted, is probably less exposed than it should be because of the closure of alternative media in the country. There was a bit of a widening out under President Khatami, but more recently various measures have been used to restrict any alternative views in the country. It stems back to the realities of the revolution, when they attempted to establish a theocratic state. When you start with that premise and that decision, there is a large probability that you will end up where we are.

The forms of repression in the country are very diverse, not only on the religion front. A 16-year-old girl was executed this year for having sexual intercourse. Whether it was because the judge lied about her age is not really the question at hand. If she was 18 or 19 it would still be serious, but it was particularly driven home because of her age.

The situation regarding the Baha’is is that which is most driven home. This year Dhabihu’llah Mahrami died after 10 years of incarceration in the city of Yazd. He had been forced to undertake hard labour for that period after his death sentence was overcome by international pressure, and very big questions have been asked about his death, allegedly around Israeli spying claims, which I think have very little substance. As well as this, on a broader front, human rights have been assaulted. Baha’is, as other speakers have indicated, are restricted in their work rights and refused entry to university. There has been evidence in the last year or so of increased surveillance of the community, and they are not recognised as a religion in the state. Amnesty International have been highly critical. They know that 66 Baha’is have been arrested since the beginning of 2005, and those numbers continue to rise. But these issues are not only with regard to the Baha’is. The Mandaeans, as we said, are also subject to great harassment. There is loss of property, discrimination and persecution for people converting to these religions. It is also the ethnic minorities.

The Kurdish Democratic Party, which attempted to accomplish change through democratic means rather than through armed insurrection, have had the misfortune of trying to negotiate with the Iranian authorities. On two occasions in Europe—once in Vienna and once in West Germany; not in Iran—when they sought negotiations with the Iranian authorities, they were gunned down. So that is the kind of credibility that this regime has.

I have very close contact with Turkic peoples, and on Saturday night, along with the Attorney-General, I attended the Turkish National Day celebrations. Amongst the minorities represented there were the Turkmen from Iran, who number many millions. Earlier this year, in the city of Shiraz, demonstrations involving an estimated one million people were severely repressed by the government. There was bashing of demonstrators and attempts to put down any proposition to have a local say with regard to language used in schools or in the media. There has been no consultation about getting a local governor who might have some connections with this very significant minority group. So it is a very diverse front of discrimination and victimisation of minorities.

The UN Special Rapporteur on the Freedom of Religion or Belief, Asma Jahangir, said in March that she had received a copy of a letter—and I alluded to this earlier—from the chairman of the command headquarters of the armed forces in Iran asking for increased surveillance of the minority group. Human Rights Watch has talked about the arrest of people for teaching English to underprivileged children. Baha’is who were teaching English and other subjects to people in Shiraz have been arrested and jailed.(Time expired)

Stuart Henry (Hasluck, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As Australians living in a democratic country with basic fundamental rights such as freedom of speech, the right to protest and practise our religious beliefs freely, without fear of reprisal, the concept of persecution for practising a faith that promotes peace, tolerance and harmony is a foreign concept. Unfortunately, this is not the case, and many people practising the Baha’i faith in Iran have undergone torture, abuse and humiliation, simply because they choose to practise this faith that they believe in, which differs from that of the undemocratic government of Iran.

I had the opportunity earlier this year to meet with some members of the local spiritual association of the Baha’is of Swan, which forms part of my electorate of Hasluck. This local spiritual association comprises 150 practising members, and their horrific stories of torture and unimaginable atrocities left me compelled to rise today and support this private member’s motion that has been moved by the honourable member for Cook.

The basic fundamental principles of the Baha’i faith are abandonment of all forms of prejudice, equal rights and opportunities for both men and women, universal education, encouragement of high moral standards in personal life, and the responsibility of each person to search independently for the truth. These basic principles are hardly a justifiable excuse to persecute and intimidate those who continue to practise this faith against the will of the Iranian government.

Within Iran there are over 300,000 members of the Baha’i faith, which constitutes the largest religious minority within the country. The members of the Baha’i have never attempted to challenge the authority of the government, and they continue to remain uninvolved in politics and the political system, yet the Iranian government refuses to recognise the legitimacy of this faith and continues to deny them basic fundamental rights.

Since the present Iranian regime came to power in 1979, their main aim has been to repress the faith and prevent it from developing further. In 1993, the United Nations Human Rights Commission uncovered a memorandum that had been written in 1991 by the Iranian Supreme Revolutionary Cultural Council and signed by the Supreme Leader. It detailed specific and direct methods for dealing with the faith in order that ‘their progress and development be blocked’. Based on this secret memorandum, which was presumably not meant to be released to the outside world, the Baha’i youth practising in Iran have been prevented from attaining higher education for up to 25 years. Since the revolution in 1979, Baha’is have been prevented from gaining employment and pensions and have lost the right to inherit property. Historical sites of great importance to the faith have been destroyed beyond repair, and cemeteries and holy places relevant to Baha’is have been seized and have not been returned.

One of the most disturbing stories that came from my meeting with the local Baha’i members was the possibility of the revival of the Hojjatieh Society. Originally founded in 1953 to eradicate the Baha’i faith, there are now serious concerns that this organisation has been revived by the government of Iran. The increasing persecution that is being committed against the Baha’i faith has escalated since the present regime came to power, which has seen more than 200 Baha’is unnecessarily killed, hundreds imprisoned for no apparent reason and businesses closed, confiscated and destroyed. Basic fundamental rights that all humans should be entitled to have been removed from Baha’i believers, and the persecution appears to be continuing to escalate.

The United Nations General Assembly continues to adopt annual resolutions that condemn the human rights abuses that occur throughout Iran, but it has no apparent effect on the attitude of the Iran government. By raising this issue on the world stage and speaking out against the atrocities that are presently occurring, the Baha’i faith in Iran has been able to continue as a religious organisation. In doing so, their believers are taking unimaginable risks and literally taking their lives into their own hands—something that the majority of Australians have never had to contend with.

Australia has always prided itself on the fact that we are a tolerant nation and welcome beliefs, faiths and religious practices that differ from Christianity. As part of the international community, we have, at the very least, a moral obligation to raise this worsening situation, and I urge in the strongest possible terms the United Nations Human Rights Commission to increase their dealings with Iran over these well-publicised concerns that exist regarding Iran’s human rights situation. Every human has the right to practise a faith of their choosing and should not be persecuted for doing so, as appears to be occurring in Iran. I call on Iran to stop this unjust persecution of all minorities.

Kirsten Livermore (Capricornia, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am pleased to have this opportunity to speak to this motion condemning the ongoing abuse of human rights in Iran, and I thank the member for Cook for bringing it before the House. Although the motion refers to a number of religious and ethnic groups within Iran, I particularly wanted to participate in this debate because I know that it is important to the Baha’i community in my electorate that these matters are brought to the attention of the Australian government. Representatives and supporters of the Baha’i community in Central Queensland have been to see me twice this year to express their concerns about the treatment of their fellow Baha’is in Iran. At least one local family that I spoke to has its own experience of the discrimination and persecution that Baha’is suffer in that country.

In part, the motion calls on Iran to recognise the legitimate rights of minorities involving their access to university training and enrolment in professions. In Iran today those rights are seriously proscribed for a number of minority groups and explicitly prohibited for Baha’is. For example, a 2001 Ministry of Justice report stated that Baha’is must be excluded or expelled from universities once their identity becomes known. Furthermore, Baha’is are banned from government employment.

This was the experience of the Rockhampton family that I referred to earlier. The mother of the family graduated in law from Tehran University and had embarked on a career in a government department prior to the revolution of 1979 that brought the Islamic government to power. Along with thousands of other Baha’is at that time she was sacked from her job, and life in Iran became increasingly difficult. She has described for me, and I have tried to imagine, a life without basic rights and with absolutely no protection for either your person or your property from the law. There is no freedom for Baha’is to practise their faith in Iran. Baha’is can have their property confiscated and they are subject to arbitrary harassment and arrest. According to the US State Department’s International religious freedom report of 2005, Iranian law allows for Baha’is to be killed with impunity. In those circumstances the family could see no future for themselves in Iran and in the mid-1980s they made the difficult and dangerous decision to flee the country. By any measure they have made a success of their life in Australia but, as they have explained to me, no-one chooses to leave their home and, of course, their fears for friends and family still in Iran are ever present. Those fears for the safety and welfare of Baha’is in Iran are real and well-founded. They are fears shared by governments and human rights agencies around the world.

The persecution of and denial of rights to the Baha’i community in Iran have been going on since the 1979 revolution. There are indications, however, that we are seeing a renewed effort by the government to victimise the group. In March this year the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief drew attention to a confidential letter addressed to the Ministry of Information, the revolutionary guard and the police force calling on them to identify persons who adhere to the Baha’i faith and to monitor their activities. This is no doubt an ominous development for the 300,000 or so Baha’is living in Iran. The special rapporteur voiced her concern that the information gained as a result of such monitoring will be used as a basis for the increased persecution of and discrimination against members of the Baha’i community. As we have heard from other speakers in this debate, this is just one of many such abuses of human rights by the government of Iran.

As members of the House might be aware, it was only a couple of weeks ago that Australian viewers of the Four Corners program were appalled by the shocking story of Atefah Sahaaleh, the 16-year-old girl who was executed for a so-called crime against chastity. This teenage girl, a victim of abuse and rape, was sentenced to death even though, as a signatory to the International Convention on Human Rights, Iran cannot execute a person under the age of 18. As the member for Reid pointed out in his contribution, that is not really the point anyway. The technicality about her age is only one of the shocking aspects of this case. By supporting this motion the parliament joins with the international community in condemning these breaches of human rights in Iran. The Australian government must continue to strongly support international efforts to eliminate discrimination and human rights abuses in all their forms within that country.

Dick Adams (Lyons, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

(Hon. DGH Adams)—Order! The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is therefore adjourned and will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.