Committees of the House  Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of the NDP and as a member of the subcommittee. I stand in support for the motion to concur in the fourth report of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development on the Baha'i community in Iran. It is very important

Human Rights Situation in Iran   or the 1850s, obviously in years pre-dating the creation of the state of Israel, which resulted in its being there. That does not imply in any way that Baha'is are incapable of being loyal citizens of Iran. It does not imply any particular point of view on behalf of the Baha'is, whether

Bahá’i Community in Iran  Mr. Speaker, tomorrow is the global day of action for the Education is Not a Crime campaign to dramatize the painful reality that education is a crime for the Bahá’i community in Iran, a case study of the persecution and prosecution of the Bahá’i, Iran's largest religious

Iran  , the discrimination due to sexual orientation that we have already heard about and the repression of people based on ethnicity and religious beliefs. We will think of people, particularly for me, who are from the Baha'i faith. Of course, the origins of the Baha'i faith come right from Iran. We

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee   of my remarks now. Dr. Ottolenghi, I appreciate your remarks, particularly with regard to the persistent and pervasive state-sanctioned assault on human rights in Iran and the intensification of repression targeting, as you put it, religious minorities, such as the Baha'i

Iran   are testimony to the importance if not urgency of this debate. We meet, as I said earlier, on the fifth anniversary of the imprisonment of the Baha'i leadership, a case study of Iranian injustice in the criminalization of innocence and the targeting of Iran's largest religious minority

Human Rights Situation in Iran  Mr. Chair, I want to commend my hon. colleague on his excellent speech and the work he does in the committee. The member stated very clearly what is faced by a lot of the minority groups in Iran, whether it be the Baluchis, the Baha'is, or some of the minority Christian

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee   in effect. As I explained, the arrest of dual nationals, or simply people with foreign ties, is by deliberate design. I think that Canada should demand the release of Saeed Malekpour and the release of the seven Baha'i leaders. That is one concrete step that Canada can make. Secondly

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  . The history of the Baha'i faith in Iran has been marked by episodes of persecution. However, since the outset of the Islamic revolution, the persecution has been relentless, and more recently has intensified. There is much to be said, but I will limit myself to the matter of extreme

Baha'i Community in Iran  Mr. Speaker, on March 30, 2009, this House unanimously condemned the persecution of the Baha'i of Iran. The House also urged the government to review the charges and hold a fair, open trial. Iran did not heed our call. On August 8, 2010, after a show trial, the seven accused

Committees of the House   to put a stop to its discrimination against the Baha'is. Iran has international obligations under international conventions it has signed. In recent weeks, we have seen that the new American President and others are open to dialogue with Iran. This issue must be addressed

Human Rights Situation in Iran  Mr. Chair, I want to thank the hon. member for highlighting the persecution the Baha'is face in Iran. As far as we are concerned, the Baha'i in Iran are Iranian citizens. Like any other Iranian citizens, it is deplorable that their human rights have been taken away

Baha'i Community in Iran  Mr. Speaker, for decades now, members of the 300,000-strong Baha'i community have suffered relentless persecution at the hands of the Government of Iran. These incidents have been documented by the United Nations and have received international condemnation. These attacks

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee   the Baha'i. The first issue relates to a position of B'nai Brith, and the other—Camp Ashraf—the B'nai Brith hasn't taken a position on. With the Baha'i, they are sympathetic. First of all, in terms of the incitement to genocide of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, there are two developments in Iran

Committees of the House   of adherents of the Baha’i faith. In 2005 the United Nations special rapporteur on freedom of religion uncovered a confidential letter from the command headquarters of the armed forces of Iran ordering the identification of all Baha'is and monitoring their activities. This particular