Report: Iran regime continues persecuting religious minorities

The regime in Iran is persecuting religious minorities and is continuing to commit human rights abuses, according to a damning new US government report.

The regime is still harassing, arresting and jailing anyone that opposes the state's theocratic dictatorship, the US Committee on International Religious Freedom said.

It has urged the US government to take a string of measures to improve the abuses that are rife in Iran.

It recommended that:

Violations of freedom of religion or belief and related human rights are part of multilateral or bilateral discussions with the Iranian government whenever possible.

It continue to work closely with European and other allies to apply pressure through a combination of advocacy, diplomacy, and targeted sanctions.

It continue to speak out publicly and frequently at the highest levels about the severe religious freedom abuses in Iran, press for and work to secure the release of all prisoners of conscience, and highlight the need for the international community to hold authorities accountable in specific cases.

It continue to identify Iranian government agencies and officials responsible for severe violations of religious freedom, freeze those individuals’ assets, and bar their entry into the United States, as delineated under the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010.

The US should call on Iran to cooperate fully with the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights Situation in Iran, including allowing the Special Rapporteur – as well as the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, to visit, and continue to support an annual UN General Assembly resolution condemning severe violations of human rights, including freedom of religion or belief, in Iran and calling for officials responsible for such violations to be held accountable; and Use appropriated funds to advance Internet freedom and protect Iranian activists by supporting the development and accessibility of new technologies and programs to counter censorship and to facilitate the free flow of information in and out of Iran.

The report also said that the US Congress should reauthorize the Lautenberg Amendment, which aids persecuted Iranian religious minorities and other specified groups seeking refugee status in the United States, and work to provide the President with permanent authority to designate as refugees specifically-defined groups based on shared characteristics identifying them as targets for persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or
political opinion.