The Islamic Republic of Iran has denied unofficial religious minorities the opportunity to obtain national ID cards.
To get a national card, unofficial religious minorities must lie or be disenfranchised.
For Baha'is and other unofficial religious minorities, the new national card application form is problematic.
February 27, 2020 — In a new move that severely discriminates against unofficial religious minorities in Iran, the national ID card, which is mandatory for most government and private jobs, is being issued only to citizens who believe in official religions.
Due to the removal of the "other religions" option in the new national card application form, followers of unofficial religions must falsely select one of the official religions (Islam, Christianity, Judaism, or Zoroastrianism) or they will not be issued a card.
According to Hadi Ghaemi, director of the Campaign for Human Rights in Iran: "In practice, the Iranian government, with this new procedure, is violating the basic rights of religious minorities and depriving them of access to essential citizenship services."
Ghaemi added: "This action must be strongly condemned by the international community because it clearly discriminates against religious minorities and violates domestic and international laws."
Not having a national ID card makes it impossible for informal religious minorities, such as the Baha'is, who are the largest religious minority in Iran with a population of approximately 300,000 to 350,000, to access many services and perform everyday tasks, such as banking operations.
New form after criticism from MP
In the previous form for issuing a national card, in addition to the official religions in the constitution, the option of "other religions" was also mentioned to register the applicant's religion.
But in February 2018, Javad Abtahi, a conservative MP from Khomeini Shahr in Isfahan province, wrote to Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, demanding the removal of the “other religions” option. According to the MP, by including this option, the Ministry of Interior had “officially” recognized “deviant” sects, including the Baha’is.
On February 2, 2019, Bahareh Hedayat, a civil rights activist who has spent several years in prison for her peaceful activities, reposted on her Twitter page the response of the Civil Registration Organization to a Baha’i citizen. The response read: “Dear citizen, with best wishes for your health, the religion you desire has not been approved in the law and no solution has been considered. If possible, register under the existing conditions.”
New procedure exacerbates discrimination against religious minorities
The MP's entry into the issue of national identity cards and his reference to Baha'is is the latest sign of the Islamic Republic's hostility towards the country's Baha'i community, which has a very long history. While all official and unofficial religious minorities have experienced various forms of discrimination, the Islamic Republic's persecution of Baha'is has been greater than that of other minorities.
In 2014, Mohammad Javad Larijani, the former head of Iran’s Supreme Council for Human Rights, responded to a United Nations report on the mistreatment of Baha’is, saying, “Baha’is… enjoy all the privileges of other citizens.” However, the Iranian government has imprisoned leaders and followers of the faith, prevented them from attending university, closed their businesses, and confiscated their land.
Despite the emphasis of the "Citizens' Rights Charter" on "the principle of non-discrimination and equality of all individuals and groups before the law, without any consideration such as gender, ethnicity, religion, and socio-political orientations...", President Hassan Rouhani has so far remained silent about the violation of the rights of unofficial religious minorities by the Minister of Interior regarding receiving a national ID card.
Hassan Rouhani's new Interior Ministry policy violates domestic and international laws
The issuance of national ID cards is based on regulations set by the Ministry of Interior of the Hassan Rouhani government, and applicants can visit the website www.ncr.ir to fill out the electronic form. This is while the section related to the registration of religion violates the principles of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the international treaties ratified by this country.
According to Article 19 of the Constitution, "The people of Iran, regardless of their ethnicity or tribe, enjoy equal rights, and color, race, language, and the like shall not be grounds for privilege."
Also, according to Article 20, "All individuals of the nation, including men and women, are equally protected by the law and enjoy all human, political, economic, social, and cultural rights in accordance with Islamic principles."
Article 23 also states: "Inquisition of beliefs is prohibited and no one may be subjected to harassment or reprisals simply for holding an opinion."
In addition, Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights state that no one has the right to deprive individuals of their religious freedom or to compel them to adopt other religions.
The use of the new national card application form includes new applicants and replacement card applicants.
Source: Human Rights Campaign
