Protecting minorities in Iran

                 

  On Dec. 20, the U.S. Senate passed Senate Resolution 75 “condemning the government of Iran’s state-sponsored persecution of its Baha’i minority and its continued violation of the International Covenants on Human Rights” making it clear that it sees human rights, including those of the Baha’is, Iran’s largest non-Muslim religious minority, as an important element of the U.S.’s renewed engagement with Iran.
  
The Senate’s actions, coupled with the Dec. 18 passage of a U.N. General Assembly resolution on human rights violations in Iran, make it clear that the U.S. and numerous countries continue to hold grave concerns about the ongoing abuses against the Baha’is and others out of favor with the Iranian regime.
  
This resolution is particularly timely because Iran recently released a long-awaited draft Charter of Citizens’ Rights, which fails to protect religious minorities that are not already recognized under the Iranian constitution, such as the Baha’is. If this is not corrected the foundat