BIC and Member States address freedom of religion and belief at Human Rights Council

BIC and Member States address freedom of religion and belief at Human Rights Council  

BIC representatives are taking part in the10^th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, with a particular focus on the issue related to the right to freedom of religion or belief, the rights of women and children as well as the issue of racism. The persecution of the Bahá'ís in Iran has been brought to the attention of the Council through: a question to the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief and a statement at the general debate. Many States also expressed their concerns about the persecution: Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic (on behalf of the European Union), France, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, the United Kingdom (Doc one & two), and the United States. The International Federation of Human Rights Leagues (FIDH) also expressed  extreme concern about the persecution of the Bahá'ís. Three of the UN Special Procedures included specific cases in their reports; the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention took on several Iranian Bahá'í cases under its mandate.