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UNANIMOUS RESOLUTION PASSED BY THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
• IN STRASBOURG, ON FRIDAY, ? SEPTEMBER 1980, CONCERNING
THE RIGHTS OF THE BAHA'T COMMUNITY IN tRAN.
The European Parliament S
— recalling its unfailing attachment to international protection
of human rights,
recognising in particular the need to protect the rights of
religious minorities in all countries,
concerned at the systematic campaign of persecution directed in
Iran against the 300,000 members of the Bah 'i community (the
biggest religious minority in r n) and the accompanying violations
of elementary human rights, in particular:
(a) the refusal of any legal protection to the Bah ' minority,
(b) the summary arrest, detention and execution of leaders of the
Bah 'i community,
(c) the confiscation or destruction of the resources and means of
subsistence of the Bah ' and the arbitrary dismissals or refusals
to employ Bah ' s,
(d) the threats and acts of violence against the Bah '{s in an attempt
to force them to repudiate their Faith,
i) condemns the violation of the human rights of all religious
minorities in I ran, more particularly the members of the
Bah 'i Faith, whose rights as a religious minority are not
recognised by the Iranian Constitution;
ii) calls upon the Government of Iran to grant the Bah 'I
community the legal recognition and protection to which
all minorities are entitled under the provisions of the
various UN Acts and Conventions on human rights;
iii) also condemns the illegal measures taken against Catholic
and Anglican leaders, and the execution of leading members
of the Jewish community;
iv) calls upon the Foreign Ministers of the European Communities
meeting in political cooperation to make urgent representations
to the Iranian authorities to put an end to the persecution of
the members of the Bah 'i community, and to allow them to
practise their religion freely and enjoy all civil, political,
social, economic and cultural rights, requests the COmmission
and Council of the European Communities to impose an embargo
on all sales of surplus agricultural products to Iran where
subsidies by European taxpayers are involved until full human
rights are restored to Iranian citizens;
v) instructs its President •to forward this Resolution to the
Foreign Ministers meeting in political cooperation, to the
Government of Iran, to the Governments, and Parliaments of
the Member States and to the Secretary General of the United
Nations.
JUSTIFICATION
All the evidence suggests that the arrests and executions of the
Bah ' s are continuing to increase and are being carried out
according to a pre—arranged plan. Only a speedy response by t.he_. -
European Parliament can stop these developments.”. 13P0004
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