Iranian rights groups confront persecution of Baha’is at UN session

The session, held during the UN Human Rights Council meeting, included discussions on minority rights, state repression, and accountability.

A panel hosted by the Baha’i International Community, the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center, and the Impact Iran coalition examined the systematic targeting of Baha’is. The event featured Mai Sato, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, alongside prominent rights advocates.

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"The interviews with 56 Baha'is with direct experience of persecution offer powerful firsthand accounts that cannot be ignored," Sato said. "The report argues that the Baha'i people of Iran have long been subjected to a systematic process of othering by the state."

The 1979 constitution of the Islamic Republic recognizes only Islam, Christianity, Judaism and Zoroastrianism. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has on several occasions called the Baha'i faith a cult and in a religious fatwa in 2018 forbade contact, including business dealings, with followers of the faith.

Baha'is, who number around 300,000 in Iran, say their rights are systematically violated and they are often harassed, forced to leave their homes and businesses, and are deprived of government jobs and university education.

"Bahai women face intersectional discrimination, persecuted both as women and as a member of a religious minority," Sato said. She cited reports of ten Baha’i women in Isfahan being sentenced to a combined 90 years in prison and stripped of assets.

Speaking at the event, Roya Boroumand, director of the Abdorrahman Boroumand Foundation, addressed broader societal changes.

"The Iranians are secularizing, their distancing themselves from Islam, from religion altogether, or they are converting to Zoroastrianism or Baha’ism or Christianity," she said. "For the theocracy, losing its Muslims is a disaster."

The day concluded with a screening of a documentary presented by rights group Justice for Iran, highlighting the courage of protesters and whistleblowers who exposed atrocities during the November 2019 protests.

It heard testimonies from witnesses, victims, and experts on the Iranian government’s violent crackdown, which resulted in the deaths of at least 1500 protestors and mass arrests.

Azadeh Afsahi, a psychotherapist and human rights advocate, spoke about the dangers of dehumanization. "During the Rwanda genocide, Tutsis were called cockroaches. Under Nazi Germany, Jews were called rats. It happened before and it's happening now," she said. "The Islamic Republic of Iran has used otherization to drive its agenda of violence."

As international attention remains on Iran’s human rights record, rights groups continue to document abuses and call for accountability. "Despite these challenges, the Baha'i community demonstrates remarkable resilience," Sato said.