Human Rights

Human Rights

Overview

Guided by a belief in the noble nature of the individual and the equality of all human beings as the prerequisite for a just, prosperous and sustainable world, the promotion of human rights has been a key element of the work of the Bahá’í International Community’s United Nations Office.  Throughout the last 60 years, our Office has worked to uphold the rights of women, children, minorities and indigenous populations and has been active in UN debates and efforts to strengthen mechanisms to uphold economic, social and cultural rights. Today, the Bahá'í International Community plays a leadership role in a number of NGO committees focused on human rights and participates actively in efforts to strengthen the UN’s capacity to realize the ideals set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Recent Activities

2009

• The Bahá'í International Community is joined a worldwide community of well-wishers of the people of Iran (Including Nobel Peace Laureate Shirin Ebadi, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and FIDH ) to mark a Global Day of Action to demand respect for the human rights of the Iranian people and to demonstrate worldwide solidarity with the civil rights movement in Iran.” (25 July)

2008

BIC Representative Sarah Vader reads statement at the Durban Review Conference.

Panel on "The Right to Freedom of Religion or Belief"

• BIC representatives took part in the12^th session of the Human Rights Council (14 September - 2 October). Representatives were active at many meetings, consultations and events, in particular those regarding the rights to freedom of religion or belief, freedom of expression, and the rights of women. BIC made a statement/video on the situation of human rights in Iran in the context of the general debate on Human Rights situations.
• BIC signed on to a letter addressed to UN member states, calling for “competitive, genuinely-contested and principled elections for the Human Rights Council” as outlined in GA Resolution 60/251 creating the Council. (13 August)

Activity Archive 

Positions on Selected Issues

Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance

Racism originates not in the skin but in the human mind.  Remedies to racial prejudice, xenophobia and intolerance must accordingly address, first and foremost, the mental illusions that for thousands of years have generated false concepts of superiority and inferiority among human beings.  At the root of this intolerance is the erroneous idea that humankind is composed of separate and distinct races, peoples or castes, and that these sub-groups possess varying intellectual, moral and/or physical capacities, which justify different forms of treatment. more…

Human rights reform

Beyond the ongoing structural and functional reforms of the United Nations human rights machinery, the legitimacy of this machinery must be restored through its consistent adherence to the highest principles of justice, including those elaborated in the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights, bolstered by the requisite moral, intellectual, and material resources, must now become the standard-bearer in the field of human rights and an effective tool in alleviating the suffering of individuals and groups whose rights are denied. more...

The right to freedom of religion or belief

The freedom to hold beliefs of one’s choosing and to change them is central to human development as it makes possible the individual’s search for meaning. The right to change one’s religion or belief, as articulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, is a right that is protected unconditionally under international law and is, at no time, subject to government regulation. The grave threats posed by religious extremism, intolerance and discrimination require the United Nations to address the status of this right openly and earnestly. The Bahá’í International Community calls on the United Nations to affirm unequivocally an individual’s right to change his or her religion under international law. Such an affirmation would help to remove fallacious interpretations of this right and lend moral force to the condemnation of policies and practices that violate the principle of non-discrimination in matters of religion or belief. more...

[2] http://news.bahai.org/story/405

[3] Situation of the Baha'is in Iran / Situation of the Baha'is in Egypt

[4] Special Procedures are generally volunteer independent experts (“special rapporteurs”) or a group of experts (“working group”), appointed by the Chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights/ Human Rights Council to investigate, monitor and advise on the human rights situation in a particular country or on a specific theme. They do so through country visits and, in this way, serve as the eyes and ears of the Commission at the ground level.