The statement can be found on the UN website.

• In January 2018, Mr. Haydara was sentenced to public execution. Eighteen court hearings have been held since then, and the last one was scheduled to have taken place on March 31, before being brought forward unexpectedly to the 22nd of March. This hearing took place after more than six years of unjustified detention, false and unfounded allegations, and harsh and degrading treatment of Mr. Haydara.
• In recent years, the first instance court in Sana'a has not only tried Mr. Haydara but has targeted more than twenty members of the Bahá'í community, including members of the Bahá’í administrative structure. Mr. Haydara was one of six Bahá'ís detained in Yemen for their beliefs at the time of this hearing.
• The case of Mr. Haydara has received widespread media attention since his detention. See Media Coverage and Statements on the Persecution of the Bahá'ís in Sana'a, Yemen.
• Bahá’ís have been systematically persecuted since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The Iranian state even formulated its own state doctrine in 1991 with the aim of eliminating Bahá'í as a viable community in Iran and abroad. The persecution was exported to Yemen via the influence on the Houthis. [Website of the Bahá’í community in Germany]
• For further information see BWNS 1303; BWNS 1232; BIC 21 March 2020; BIC 23 March 2020; BWNS 1036.
• Amnesty International.

• The Bahá'í International Community further advocated for the Houthi authorities to drop charges that were issued in 2018 against over 20 other Bahá'ís, to return seized assets and properties of members of the Bahá'í community, and to allow the functioning of Bahá'í institutions in Yemen. [Asharq Al-Awsat 27 March 2020]
• The announcement was made In a general television address by Mr. Mahdi al-Mashat, President of the Houthi Supreme Political Council. [BIC 25 March 2020]
• Notwithstanding the above, the prisoners were not released.

  More specifically the USCIRF released Iran Policy Brief: Increased Persecution of Iran’s Bahá'í Community in 2019 (PDF). Referring to the continuing violations of religious freedom by the clergy-dominated Islamic Republic government, the report urged the U.S. government to impose sanctions on government institutions and officials responsible for violating religious freedoms in Iran, to freeze their assets and to ban them from entering the United States.

• The architectural firm Space Matters of New Delhi was selected and the project was the creation of the founders of the firm, Moulshri Joshi, Amritha Ballal, and Suditya Sinha.
• The design.
• See article in Architecture Live.
  • For an interview with the architects see Surface Magazine (PDF).
• Drawing on patterns found in the Madhubani folk art of Bihar and the region’s long architectural heritage, the firm created a design with a repeating pattern of arches. The domed edifice will step up from nine arches at the base, multiplying until each segment appears to merge into a single geometry. Openings at the center of the dome and in each ring of arches will reduce the weight of the ceiling while allowing gentle light to filter in. [BWNS1421]
• Slideshow.

• The memorial was about one block from the Minneapolis Bahá'í Center. See The American Bahá’í - August/September/October 2020 • V51N04 for the story of how the Bahá'í community reacted to the crisis in their neighbourhood.

• In Shiraz, some 40 Bahá'ís whose cases had been suspended for months, were summoned to court, part of a growing and unprecedented trend of the city’s Bahá'ís in recent years. One judicial official in Shiraz announced his intention to eradicate Bahá'ís from that city. [Iran Wire; BWNS1433; Archives of Persecution]

• His major publications were:
  • The Violence Free-Society: A Gift for Our Children. Bahá’í Studies. Vol. 6. 1979.
  • Unity: The Creative Foundation of Peace. Bahá’í Studies Publications, Ottawa 1986.
  • The Psychology of Spirituality. Paradigm Publishing, Manotick, Ontario 1994.
  • The Violence Free Family. Building Block of a Peaceful Civilization. Bahá’í Studies Publications, Ottawa, Canada 1995.
  • Conflict-Free Conflict Resolution (CFCR): Process and Methodology. with Roshan Danesh. Journal of Peace and Conflict Studies, Vol. 11, No. 2, Fall. (March 21, 2004).
  • Unity of Faith and Reason in Action 2010.
  • The Unity-Based Family. An Empirical Study of Healthy Marriage, Family, and Parenting. H.B. Danesh, MD, FRCP(C), with Azin Nasseri, PhD. Cambridge Scholars Publishing; 1 edition (1 April 2017).
• For a more complete list see his website.
• Documents by Hossain Danesh on Bahai-library.com.
• YouTube.
• See his website. iiiii

• The Temple had already become a point of adoration. Prior to the global health crisis, people were gathering on the grounds to pray and take part in community education programs, consulting about how they can develop their capacity to offer service to their society. [BWNS1434]

• See as well their website Race Unity Action.
• See also The Bahá’í Response to Racial Injustice and Pursuit of Racial Unity Part 1 (1912-1996) and Part 2 (1996-2021). [BWNS1514]

• Statement on the External Affairs website.

The design, created by Wolff Architects in Cape Town, South Africa, was inspired by traditional artworks, structures and natural features of the DRC, as well as by the Bahá'í sacred teachings, particularly by the spiritual concept that God’s bounty is unceasingly flowing over all people. The patterns that will adorn the outside of the dome of the central edifice will express this idea in a style reminiscent of the artwork of various Congolese peoples.

Commenting on the design, the architects stated: “We were inspired by an image of 19th century Congolese architecture which showed the most beautiful structures that appear to have finely woven bamboo facades with a parabolic roof made of palm leaves. These houses were located amongst giant baobab trees. ... The undulating roof of the temple makes reference to this history.” [BWNS1438]

• Earl went to Britain in 1939 and after a stint in the British merchant navy rose to fame in the 1951 movie Pool of London, where he played a merchant sailor who falls in love with a white woman. It was the first major role for a Black actor in a British mainstream film and also dealt with the topic of a mixed-race relationship, generally acknowledged as the first such portrayal in a British film. He went on to star in movies and TV shows including the 007 film Thunderball, Dr. Who, The Queen, Saffire, and Inception to name but a very few. His acting career spanned seven decades and included stage, screen, and television. As an artist and actor, he refused to accept roles that demeaned or stereotyped the character of people of colour.
• He became a committed Bahá'í in 1963 when a friend took him to an event at the time of the World Congress in London and subsequently pioneered to the Solomon Islands. After returning to Britain his acting career experienced a revival, with a key role in the 2005 United Nations thriller The Interpreter as an African president accused of war crimes.
• In 2012 he returned to his country of birth to open the Earl Cameron Theatre in Hamilton, Bermuda. [Doctor Who News 4 July 2020]
• Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II awarded him the high accolade of Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2009 New Year Honors list for services to drama in a career spanning seven decades. [The Guardian 4 July 2020; Wikipedia; BWNS1184]
• His obituary in the New York Times in print on July 11, 2020, Section A, Page 21.

The webinar explored the various dimensions of the challenge with urban development in India. Deliberations were focused on the dual need to bring about structural changes to make urban spaces more inclusive and to transform the way the urban poor are conceived in development thinking and urban policies. Speakers included the following noted economists, social scientists and development practitioners: Prof. Amitabh Kundu, Distinguished Fellow, Research and Information System for Developing Countries, New Delhi; Prof. Partha Mukhopadhyay, Senior Fellow, Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi; Dr Siddharth Agarwal of the Urban Health Research Centre, New Delhi; Dr Puja Guha Azim Premji University, Bangalore; Dr Vandana Swami, Azim Premji University, Bangalore and Ms Caroline Fazli, Research Scholar, University of Bath. The webinar was moderated by Dr. Arash Fazli, Head, Bahá’í Chair for Studies in Development.

• Audio version.

• Following their release, the Bahá'í International Community called for the lifting of all charges against these six individuals and the other Bahá'ís that had been charged, the return of their assets and properties, and the safeguarding of the rights of all Bahá'ís in Yemen to live according to their beliefs without risk of persecution. [BIC News 30 July 2020]
• The release of the six came four months after the Shiite Houthis announced they had commuted the death sentence of Hamed bin Haydara and ordered his release, as well as that of the other five detainees. The six men were flown out of Yemen to Ethiopia late on Thursday, said bin Haydara’s wife, Alham. It was reported that they were living in “safe” locations in Europe, receiving medication for wounds and diseases that they contracted during their detention inside Houthi prisons. [San Francisco Chronicle 30 July 2020; Arab News 20/11/2020]
• The six had been detained at various times:
      Mr. Haydara, an engineer, was arrested because of his beliefs at his workplace in December 2013. Following a long court case that lacked due process, he was sentenced to death in 2018. His appeal was rejected in 2020.
      Mr. Ghaderi, a project officer, was arrested in 2016 when a gathering was raided.
      In April 2017, Mr. Waleed Ayyash, a Yemeni tribal leader, was arrested on his way to Hudaydah and was held in an undisclosed location.
      The following month, Mr. Al-Arieghie, a civil rights activist, was abducted by the authorities in Sana’a.
      Mr. Sana’i, a prominent civil engineer in Yemen in his late 60s, was arrested in front of his workplace.
      In October 2017, Mr. Akram Ayyash, a manager of a nonprofit organization, was arrested during a raid by security forces on a Bahá'í celebration.
  
• In September 2018, these five, along with nineteen others, were indicted at a court hearing in Sana’a under baseless charges. [BWNS1443]
• Diane Ala'i, representative of the Bahá'í International Community, expressed gratitude to the UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights for their support. [The National]
• Upon their release they were immediately exiled from the country. [AL Monitor 10 August 2020]
• Following another court hearing on 22 August 2020 the charges against the six men were not dropped and the prosecution declared the recently released men as “fugitives” despite the fact that their departure from Yemen had been a condition of their release. The prosecution asked the bailors to ensure the compulsory attendance of five of them at the next hearing scheduled for the 12th of September. [BIC News]

“Bosch has for several decades served as a vital center of learning and inspiration,” the letter continued. “We have no doubt that, once the present difficulties are overcome, it will once again become a place radiating the light of the unifying teachings of our Faith and a source of spiritual power for the entire region.” [US Bahá'í News]

In addition to her critiques on Persian literature she published a biography of Zandokht Shiraizi, a pioneer in the feminist movement in Iran. She resided in New Jersey where she worked on the editorial board of the New Jersey-based magazine, Persian Heritage. Bassari also assisted in books on the life of Táhirih and contributed with Persian to English translations in academia. [Wikipedia]

• The PDF was made available in English.
• The statement was released following the UN75 Global Governance Forum that was held on the 16 and 17th of September with the theme “the future we want, the UN we need”. [UN2020]

• For the village of Ivel, the home of one of the oldest Bahá'í communities in Iran, the persecution began in earnest in 1983 when they were first driven out when trucks and bulldozers moved in and destroyed fifty houses. They have made periodic visits to the village since that time to tend to their crops and herds. [DW 8Mar21; BIC News 10Mar21]

• A tower crane was erected on the site to facilitate the work of laying the foundations for the edifice. Photo.
• The support piles that had been driven deep at the center of the site were capped with a layer of concrete to provide stability for the structure to be erected above. Photo.
• The foundations that will support the north and south entrances leading toward the central structure and the walls that will enclose an inner garden area were taking shape. Photo.
• The detailed designs needed for future work are taking their final shape while preparations for further stages of construction have begun. Initial tests are underway on innovative techniques needed to build the intricate marble-clad trellis and skylights that will stretch out from the central structure to the surrounding gardens. [BWNS1419]
• An aerial photo of the site.

He completed an undergraduate degree at Amherst College, Massachusetts in 1964 and obtained a doctorate in physics at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1968 before settling in Colombia as a pioneer.

From 1970 until 1980 he served as the Chairman for the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Colombia. In 1980 he was appointed to the Continental Board of Counsellors for the Protection and Propagation of the Faith in the Americas, on which he served for eight years. In 1988, he was named to the Bahá’í International Teaching Centre and was a member of that body until 1993, when he was first elected to the Universal House of Justice. He served until his retirement in 2013.

He served as president of Fundacion para la Aplicacion de las Ciencias (FUNDAEC), a nongovernmental development agency in Colombia, from 1974 to 1988, and continued to serve on its board of directors until the end of his life. [BWNS1453; Bahaipedia]

• Documents by Dr Arbab.
• Scientific documents by Dr Arbab.

He was a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada from 1960 to 1985 and served the last twenty years as the general secretary. In 1985. He was appointed director-general of the Bahá'í International Community's Office of Public Information at the World Centre. He served in that capacity until 1993 when he was elected to the Universal House of Justice. He retired from the House of Justice in 2005 due to considerations of age and related needs of the Faith. [BWNS1455]

• In 1984 he co-authored the introductory text,The Bahai Faith: The Emerging Global Religion with his friend William S Hatcher.
• His essay, The Missionary as Historian: William Miller and the Bahá'í Faith was a review of William McElwee Miller’s book The Bahá'í Faith: Its History and Teachings.
• His series of talks entitled Historical Consciousness and the Divine Plan was packaged as a compact disc and has been made available on Bahá'í Library.
• His paper Persecution of the Bahá'ís of Iran 1844-1984 published in Bahá'í Studies in 1984 is available in PDF.
• His article Humanity's Coming Encounter with Baha'u'llah was published in American Bahá'í in 1992.
• In 1998 his article Bahá'í Faith was published in Canadian Encyclopedia.
• The Mission of the Bab: Retrospective 1844-1944 as published in Bahá'í World. [BW23p193] iiiii

The central foundation of 2,900 square metres was completed in a single concrete pour. It is supported by deep underground piles.

Next the base will be laid for the sloping gardens that will rise from the encircling path to culminate over the spot where the sacred remains of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá will rest.

Permits have been obtained for the final stages of construction. [BWNS1454]

• Video.
• YouTube.

Approximately 7,100 articles have been published in print or online in the Encyclopedia of Iranica after four decades. If one includes cross-reference, the total of entries would be over 9,000.

In 1990, Professor Yarshater established the Encyclopædia Iranica Foundation to ensure the continuation of this comprehensive scholarly work. He was the Foundation’s President until his passing at the age of 98 in 2018.

Columbia University and the Encyclopædia Iranica became involved in two lawsuits: In the first, Columbia University asked the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to rule that Columbia owned the copyright of Encyclopedia of Iranica. In the second the EIF accused Columbia university of infringing Iranica’s copyrights and misusing their trademarks. A year later, in July 2020, the court granted the EIF a temporary restraining order to prevent Columbia from using the “Encyclopaedia Iranica” name connected with its publications. As a result, Columbia University had to stop publishing facsimile 6 of Volume XVI of the encyclopedia. The restraining order was lifted in October 2020.

The ruling by the New York court not only granted the Yarshater Center at Columbia University the right to publish Encyclopaedia Iranica but by implication viewed Columbia as the legitimate holder of Iranica’s copyright. The legal battle continues. [Radio Maneh]

• Photos of the event. [BWNS]
• The design of the national Bahá'í House of Worship of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[BWNS1438]

AFRICA (20 Counsellors): Mélanie Bangala, Mariama Ousmane Djaouga, Alain Pierre Djoulde, Agatha Sarinoda Gaisie-Nketsiah, Augustino Ibrahim, Mati Issoufou, Hamed Javaheri, Jacques Tshibuabua Kabuya, Musonda Kapusa-Linsel (Trustee of the Continental Fund), Linnet Sifuna Kisaka, Townshend Lihanda, Izzat Abumba Mionda, Maina Mkandawire, Judicaël Mokolé, Amélia Mujinga Ngandu, Nsika Mutasa, Michael Okiria, Nancy Oloro Robarts, Djamila Tchakréo, Jean- Pierre Tshibangu

THE AMERICAS (21 Counsellors): José Luis Almeida, Ayafor Temengye Ayafor, Louis Boddy, Natasha Bruss, Beatriz Carmona, Brígida Carrillo, Ingrid Umpierre Conter, Blas Cruz Martínez, Daniel Duhart, Farah Guchani-Rosenberg, Sonlla Heern, Badí Hernández, Irene Iturburo, Nwandi Ngozi Lawson, Ada Micheline Leonce Ferdinand, Borna Noureddin (Trustee of the Continental Fund), Arthur Powell, Pejman Samoori, Bernardino Sánchez, William Silva, Margarita Valdez Martínez

ASIA (27 Counsellors): Yam Prasad Acharya, Jamil Aliyev, Bhavna Anbarasan, Walid Ayyash, Marjini Deraoh, Gulnara Eyvazova, Shareen Farhad, Nadera Fikri, Kam Mui Fok Sayers, Rahul Kumar, Nicholas Loh, Parimal Mahato, Tarrant Matthew Mahony, Uttam Mitra, Myint Zaw Oo, Faris Naimi, Sokuntheary Reth, Foad Reyhani (Trustee of the Continental Fund), Artin Rezaie, Hesham Saad, Niroshani Saleh, Omid Seioshanseian, Dregpal Singh, Zebinisso Soliyeva, Ircham Sujadmiko, Fang Jung Tseng Chung, Ozoda Zoidova

AUSTRALASIA (10 Counsellors): Bob Ale, Latai ‘Atoa, Ritia Kamauti Bakineti, Kirk Johnson, Jalal Rodney Mills, Taraz Nadarajah, Daniel Pierce, Kessia Ruh, Vahid Saberi, Tessa Scrine (Trustee of the Continental Fund) To the Bahá’ís of the World 2 29 October 2020

EUROPE (12 Counsellors): Raffaella Capozzi Gubinelli, Aistė Elijio, Orlando Ravelo Hernández, Varqá Khadem, Shirin Youssefian Maanian, Sabà Mazza, Veranika Medvedeva, Hedyeh Nadafi-Stoffel, Yevgeniya Poluektova, Mehdi Rezvan, Amir Saberin (Trustee of the Continental Fund), Paul Verheij

The Universal House of Justice paid tribute to those retiring members:
Vugar Alizadeh, Naisan Azimi, Ronny Brenes, Olga Daradur, Jabbar Eidelkhani, Clément Thyrrell Feizouré, Shirin Fozdar-Foroudi, Zoraida García Garro, Bernard Lo Cascio, Lee Lee Loh Ludher, Sehla Masunda, Nibras Sarmad Moqbel, Aggrey Zeyazi Munubi, Delafruz Nassimova, Ahmad Parsa, U’ileiuluwehi Pimental, Iharinirina Rakotomavo, Carmen Elisa de Sadeghian, Rajan Sawant, Mark Sisson, Christopher Kiprotich Songok, Raúl Taboada, Henry Tamashiro, Shabnam Tashakour

In a seminar held by the Office, three members of the Bahá’í community with expertise in the fields of governance, economics, and the environment explored some of the implications of the BIC statement, A Governance Befitting, and its call for a “global civic ethic.” The BIC presenters were: Maja Groff, an international lawyer based in The Hague, Netherlands, Augusto Lopez-Claros, executive director of the Global Governance Forum, and Arthur Lyon Dahl, president of the International Environment Forum. [BWNS1465]

• Photos.

• Video.
• Photos.
• YouTube.

The resolution asks Iran to “eliminate, in law and practice… all forms of discrimination on the basis of thought, conscience, religion or belief, including economic restrictions… [and] the denial of and restrictions on access to education, including for members of the Bahá'í faith.” It also urges an end to “other human rights violations against persons belonging to recognized and unrecognized religious minorities.”

This deprivation of the freedom to practice their religion is a breach of Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The United Nations covenant holds that every person has the right to freedom of religion, freedom of converting religion, as well as freedom of expression, individually or collectively; openly or secretly.

Just four days after the UN resolution was passed there were raids on Bahá'í homes in Tehran, Karaj, Iṣfáhán and its suburbs, Mashhad and Kerman. [Iran Press Watch 22 November 2020; Iran Press Watch 23 November 2020]

After the laying of the foundations which was completed last December, work progressed on an intricate steel structure for the central edifice that traces the unique weaving pattern of the exterior. An innovative design for the steel dome, devised by Werkstudio, an engineering firm based in Germany and Poland, will provide the required strength with an economical use of material.

The structural system will interfaces with the nine entrance canopies that provide lateral strength to the temple. This system, parts of which are nearing completion, will eventually support a steel dome mesh that will at its apex reach a height of approximately 16 meters above floor level.

Designs were being finalized for wood panels that will adorn the entrances of the temple, using local timber. Planning is also under way for gardens that will surround the central edifice.

• Photos.
• Video.
• Facebook page.

Note: Al-Shari 'newspaper is an independent newspaper publishing since 2007 in Sana'a. In 2015 it was forced to stop publishing due to harassment and threats received by the Houthi militia and resumed its daily publication from Aden. [Arab News 20/11/2020; Iran Wire 22NOV20]

The raids took place in the capital Tehran, as well as Karaj, Iṣfáhán, Mashhad, Kerman, Shahin-Shahr and Baharestan. Witnesses reported that the agents ignored all the government’s own health protocols while at the homes of the Baha'is. [BIC News]

• See her story in Iranwatch.

• The steel work to support the roof tiles was in place and the steelwork was covered with waterproofing and plaster.
• The planters on the plinth around the central edifice were being prepared, work was just beginning on the gardens and paths that will surround the temple. [BWNS1473]

Mr. Ben Moussa of the Bahá’í Office of External Affairs expressed the opinion that new notions of citizenship must be based on inclusivity and not exclusivity, stating: “Societies have historically been built hierarchically: believer and nonbeliever, free person and slave, man and women. As a result, many segments of society have not been able to contribute to public life. In such an environment, a society is not able to reach its potential. [BWNS1476]

• See reference for photos. [BWNS1483]

In July 2019 agents from the Ministry of Intelligence entered Mr. Amini’s home and confiscated his books and computer. A year later, in August 2020, Mr. Amini was sentenced to a one-year term of imprisonment and two years of exile. That sentence was reduced to a six-month term of imprisonment at the Alborz Province Appeal Court.

Mr Amini was denied access to higher education however he was been able to make a significant contribution in the field of Iranian history. Among his publications are:

• Documents on Contemporary Iranian Zoroastrians
• Documents on the Bahá'ís of Iran, a five-volume collection of governmental documents pertaining to the Bahá'ís of Iran
• The Reciprocal Discourses of the Iranian Religious Minorities and the Constitutional Revolution of 1906-1911
• Hidden Resurrection: An Exploration of the Babi and Bahá'í Faiths’ Relationship with Iran’s Intellectual Movements

An open letter written on behalf of the Committee on Academic Freedom of the Middle East Studies Association (MESA) and signed by some 40 North American Islamic/Persian scholars was addressed to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Chief Justice Ebrahim Raisi, Head of the Judiciary calling on them to end such abuses, to promptly release Mr. Amini, and to return his computer and books so that he could resume his work and continue to make scholarly contributions that benefit all those who support and admire Iran and its peoples. [Telegraph posting 3 April 2021; Iran Press Watch; Iran Wire]

• The Association for Iranian Studies also sent a letter on the 11th of February 2021 as did the Committee on Academic Freedom of the Middle East Studies Association (MESA) on the 16th of March 2021.

• For a complete report see Land confiscation and mass displacement of Bahá'ís in Iran.
• For the letter and the list of signatories see Open Letter to the Chief Justice of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
• Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney included his signature on this open letter. [BWNS1488]
• Letter from the American Islamic Congress.
• Iran Press Watch.
• Open letter by Nobel Laureate Torsten Wiesel.
• Statement by Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra Chair of the Virtues Ethics Foundation and one of the leading Islamic scholars in the United Kingdom.
• A "Twitter Storm" was organized using #ItsTheirLand on the 22nd and 23rd of February.
• The Canadian Foreign Minister, Marc Garneau, said his government was “concerned” by the ruling, urging Iran to “eliminate all forms of discrimination based on religion or belief.” The call was echoed by officials in Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, United Kingdom, Brazil, the United States, the European Parliament and the United Nations.
• Support also came from the All India Tanzeem Faiahul Muslimeen and the all India Safi Association. [BWNS1480]
• See the letter of support from South Africa's Legal Resources Centre. The LRC was established in 1979 to use the law as an instrument of justice, challenging the legal structures of apartheid. Since its inception, the LRC has always engaged in strategic legal interventions aimed at ensuring that all persons regardless of the race, religion, nationality, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation realise and enjoy their fundamental human rights.
• Ahmed Shaheed, the UN’s Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Religion or Belief, said he stood in solidarity with the Bahá’ís in Iran “who are facing systemic persecution [and] egregious rights violations.” [BWNS1495]
• A webinar was held at the European Parliament on the situation in Ivel with participation from European Union officials and a former UN Special Rapporteur, Miloon Kothari. Additionally, the Chair of the European Parliament delegation for relations with Iran, Cornelia Ernst, called the Bahá’ís a “particularly vulnerable community” and condemned the Iranian government’s “disastrous policies towards the Bahá’ís.” [BWNS1495]
• The Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights strongly condemned the continued persecution of the Bahá'í community in Iran. [Iran Press Watch]
• Canadian MPs from all five political parties recorded a video calling on the Iranian authorities: “Enough is enough”. [Iran Press Watch]

• The Bahá'í International Community presented a statement and a video entitled Reflections of Our Values: Digital Technologies and a Just Transition.

  The Bahá'í International Community partnered with the United Arab Emirates and the NGO Committee on Social Development to host an online event entitled “Artificial Intelligence: Ethical Dimensions of the Virtual World”. Drawing more than 100 diplomats, policy makers, and civil society actors, the panel discussion was organized under the auspices of the United Nations’s 59th session of the Commission for Social Development. It responded to the Commission’s focus on the role of digital technologies in providing for the well-being of all. [BWNS1487]

In these days truthfulness and sincerity are sorely afflicted in the clutches of falsehood, and justice is tormented by the scourge of injustice.

as well as:

...thou shalt see with thine own eyes and not through the eyes of others, and shalt know of thine own knowledge and not through the knowledge of thy neighbour.

They encouraged us to rely on science and the independent investigation of truth but not to let differing opinions among the believers lead to division. [11 February 2021]

• YouTube.

Yemen was reliant on import for 90% of its food. The situation was exacerbated by the global COVID-19 turndown which led to a sharp drop in remittances – the largest source of foreign currency and a lifeline for many families where 80 per cent of people live below the poverty line. As a result, millions more people could not afford to meet their basic needs. A fuel crisis in the north led to fuel shortages and price hikes. Government capacity to regularly pay salaries and pensions to public employees has been hindered and public services have been degraded. Between April and August 2020, heavy rains and flooding devastated communities, causing deaths and injuries, destroying infrastructure and livelihoods, and increasing the spread of deadly diseases. Tens of thousands of families were affected, many of them already displaced. Other natural hazards posed a threat, including desert locust infestations. The impact of the drivers of the crisis is most visible in the growing risk of famine and severe acute malnutrition, disease outbreaks, conflict casualties, forced displacement and reversal of past development gains. In addition, the conduct of the parties to the conflict had had a profound impact on the aid operation – particularly humanitarian access, aid delivery and data collection. [OCHA Report]

In July it was reported that a large part of the population had been affected by heavy rainfall and subsequent flooding. Covid-19 continued to ravage the population. (No sports were available form the north of the country where the pandemic was not recognized. 11.3 million children were in need of humanitarian assistance and 20.7 million people were in need. [Reliefweb]

• The reinforced concrete slab that will form the floor of the central edifice has been finished and the moisture barrier has been laid.
• Work on additional buildings on the site was steadily advancing.
• Earthworks were being prepared for the grounds outside the central area.
• A visitors’ center was being built near the entrance to the site.
• Elsewhere on the site, several existing buildings were being renovated. One building was being used as a construction office. In the future, these buildings will be used as educational facilities and as offices for the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

• The project was entering the final stages of construction. The exterior of the temple was nearly complete, as were auxiliary structures on the grounds.
• Skylights have been installed on all nine sides of the roof of the temple, and roof tiles are being placed, creating a diamond motif familiar to Kenyan culture.
• The interior and exterior of the temple’s nine doorways were being decorated with wood and paster.
• Construction of the reception center and other facilities on the site are nearly complete,
• Residents of the area were assisting to prepare the gardens around the temple, carrying out tasks with reverence as they regularly gather on the grounds for prayers.

• Women: Females suffered as a result of deep-rooted discrimination in law and day-to-day life. Domestic violence, acid attacks, patriarchal values and misogynist behaviours, discriminatory legal provisions were among the issues women faced. Women’s rights advocates, both women and men, including those who campaign against compulsory veiling laws were targeted. The enforcement of veiling laws by the police, Basij militia and vigilante “morality police” has often resulted in violence against women, including acid attacks and murder.
  
  Rehman’s report also detailed how blatant gender discrimination permeated almost all aspects of the law and daily life in Iran, including marriage, divorce, employment and culture, with the result that women are treated as second-class citizens. He called on the Iranian government to repeal discriminatory laws and ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women. Iran is one of the few states not to have signed it.
• Child marriages: In just six months during the previous year, 16,000 girls between the ages of 10 and 14 were married in Iran. Girls as young as 13 could marry in Iran with their father’s permission, and at an even younger age if authorized by a judge.
• Protesters: There has been a brutal crackdown by security forces on protesters during the nationwide demonstrations on November 19th. Firearms were used “in a manner that amounted to a serious violation of international human rights law,” resulting in the deaths of more than 300 people, including women and children. In the days following the protests the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps raided homes, hospitals, schools and workplaces to arrest demonstrators, including children, and crush what Iranian officials described as “a very dangerous conspiracy.” More than 7,000 detainees were held in secret facilities without access to lawyers, many of them in solitary confinement where they were tortured, starved and forced to make false confessions. The targeting of relatives in an effort to force human rights activists to halt their campaigning has been widely documented.
• Capital punishment: He also voiced concern about the high rate of death sentences in Iran, especially the execution of child offenders, and the recent cases in which protesters received the death penalty. There have also been reports of secret executions in connection with the protests “following unfair trials and after the systematic use of torture to extract forced confessions.”
• The targeting of human rights activists, journalists, labour rights campaigners, dual and foreign nationals, and lawyers.
• Violation of the right to freedom of expression: The “authorities” repeatedly disrupted telecommunications. Telegram, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube are “permanently blocked and inaccessible without circumvention tools, in an attempt to prevent protesters from revealing regime abuses to the world. Internet shutdowns and the blanket blocking of websites and applications represent a violation of the right to freedom of expression.
• Minorities: There was ongoing discrimination against ethnic, religious and sexual minorities. The report included details of executions and enforced disappearances of political prisoners from ethnic minorities. Bahá’í have been arrested for membership in the Faith and many Gonabadi Dervishes also remain in prison.
• Forced evictions: Many ethnic minorities have been evicted and their homes have been destroyed.
• Since completing his report further “disturbing incidents” involving the targeting of minorities have come to light, including: more than 20 executions of Baloch prisoners; the “suspicious” death of a Dervish follower; excessive use of force against protesters in Sistan and Balochistan province; the detention of 100 Kurdish activists, and house raids and land confiscations targeting members of the Baha’i faith. Individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender also experience human rights violations and widespread discrimination.
• COVID-19: The Iranian government has continued the targeting of journalists and writers who report on subjects such as corruption and the COVID-19 pandemic. Health experts who question the regime’s management of the health crisis also reportedly face prosecution or losing their jobs. Although international sanctions have hampered Iranian efforts to respond to the pandemic, it criticized the government’s “opaque and inadequate coronavirus response which has resulted in excess deaths, including the deaths of medical workers who were left to fend for themselves without sufficient protective equipment.” Detainees were also abandoned in “overcrowded and unhygienic” prisons. According to the World Health Organization, in June 2020 there were 211,000 prisoners in Iran’s state prisons, 2.5 times the official capacity.
• The Report: English; French.

• The film, Glimpses into the Spirit of Gender Equality, was released at the 65th UN Commission on the Status of Women, as the Baha’i International Community’s contribution to the celebration of 25 years since the landmark 4th World Conference on Women that was held in Beijing, China. Premiered online in March 2021, the film highlights urban and rural grassroots experiences in applying the spiritual principle of gender equality, drawing from the momentum generated since Beijing.

The Bahá'í community of Qatar and the BIC have previously raised these cases with Qatari officials and Qatar’s National Human Rights Committee. The authorities have alleged without evidence to UN Special Rapporteurs and diplomats, who had raised concerns, that these cases are unrelated to each other and had each been a national security concern. [BIC Video Statement; BIC News 31Mar21]