Item 2: Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General

Thank you,

This is a joint statement by International Organization for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (EAFORD) and Geneva International Centre for Justice (GICJ).
We appreciate the reports and oral updates by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

We would like to express our serious concerns regarding the grave systematic human rights violations by the Iranian government.

We are alarmed by the continuous persecution and abuse of ethnic and religious minorities in Iran and in the region. The groups targeted by the government include the Hazaras, Pashtuns, Balochs, Azeris, Baha’is, and ethnic Arabs on its soil. Furthermore, every attempt at peacefully denouncing these violations results in more people injured or killed. Particularly disturbing is the treatment of ethnic Arabs in Al-Ahwaz province. They are subjected to various human right violations, from forced displacement to mass killing, including denial of the right to education and to access to healthcare.
 

Under the pretext of fighting Daesh, Iran has put in place a militarised security structure to export the so called "Islamic revolution" which results in terrorising non-Shiites in the neighbouring countries. The Iranian government provides support to the armed groups in Lebanon, the Popular Mobilization militia in Iraq, the Houthis in Yemen and similar sectarian groups in Syria. It is well-known that these parties commit serious crimes against the civilian population.
 

Iran should stop implementing its sectarian agenda in the Middle East as it aggravates the tensions and further violates human rights in several countries. The international community should take effective measures in this regard.
 

Thank you.