The United Nations General Assembly has rebuked the Islamic Republic of Iran for its human rights violations, including against the Baha’i community, saying in a new resolution that Baha’is and others faced “ongoing severe limitations and increasing restrictions” on the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion, or belief.

Eighty countries voted in favor of the resolution, with 27 against and 68 abstentions.

The vote marks an increase in General Assembly support for the annual resolution—which in 2023 received 78 votes in favor.

The resolution, sponsored by Canada and co-sponsored by 49 Member States, first adopted by the General Assembly’s Third Committee in November, also calls on Iran to amend Articles 499 bis and 500 bis in its penal code.

The articles criminalize non-Muslim religious expression—exposing both recognized minorities and unrecognized religious minorities such as the Baha’i community to baseless criminal charges. Baha’is have been arrested, tried without evidence, and jailed, through these articles.

Baha’is have been targeted with hate speech and propaganda, restrictions on education and employment, and the arbitrary confiscation and destruction of property, the resolution says.

The Baha’i community has been “subjected to a continued increase and the cumulative impacts of long-standing persecution, including attacks, harassment, and targeting, who face increasing restrictions and systemic persecution by the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran on account of their faith and have been reportedly subjected to mass arrests and lengthy prison sentences, as well as the arrest of prominent members and increased confiscation and destruction of property,” according to the resolution.

“The Baha’i International Community is pleased to see this crucial United Nations resolution once again be confirmed by the UN General Assembly,” said Bani Dugal, Principal Representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Nations.

“The international community must always remain firm in its duty to uphold human rights. Iran’s government has never acknowledged the validity of these concerns, nor has it upheld its own human rights obligations under international law, and we can see the grim results. The Baha’is and all vulnerable minorities in Iran deserve the right to live their lives in dignity and freedom and the Iranian government must respect these rights,” she added.

During the November vote at the Third Committee, Brazil’s Mission to the United Nations said it “remains concerned by reports of violations against women, human rights defenders, and religious and ethnic minorities. We reiterate our support to the rights of the Baha'is, and other minorities to exercise their faith freely and peacefully without any discrimination.”

The United Kingdom, meanwhile, citing recent calls across Iranian society for gender equality, called the “increased targeting of Baha’i women” an “alarming escalation.”

And Ghana championed the rights of “all segments of the Iranian society, including the adherents of the Baha'i Faith who continue to report adversely on the promotion of protection of their rights.”

Australia, Canada, Israel and the United States also called on the Iranian government to respect the rights of all religious minorities in the country.

Recent developments

A recent launch of a new report, Outsiders: Multifaceted Violence Against Baha’is in the Islamic Republic of Iran by the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran, UN Special Rapporteurs including Professor Mai Sato, the new Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, and Professor Nazila Ghanea, Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, spoke about Iran’s systematic repression of the Baha’i community, particularly targeting Baha’i women.

The report, published by the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center in partnership with Eleos Justice at Monash University, described 45 years of violence perpetrated against the Baha’i community, citing direct violence, such as executions, imprisonment, and the destruction of homes and businesses; structural violence, including the denial of education and employment; and cultural violence, encompassing hate speech and state-sanctioned discrimination.

Other recent scrutiny includes a letter signed by 18 UN experts in October, rebuking Iran for targeting Baha’i women through home raids, travel bans, and prolonged prison sentences. The experts, including UN Special Rapporteurs on violence against women and girls, freedom of religion or belief, and freedom of opinion and expression, called Iran’s actions “a continuous pattern of targeted discrimination.” And earlier this year a report by Human Rights Watch, titled The Boot on My Neck, found Iran’s 45-year systemic repression of Baha’is to be the “crime against humanity of persecution.”