The UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights Situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran says religious and ethnic minorities in the country “face systemic discrimination, including arbitrary detention [and] unfair trials”.

In her first report to the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Mai Sato named Christian converts among the religious minority groups who “experience restrictions on their cultural practices, language rights and religious freedom, along with limited access to education, employment and economic opportunities”. 

Dr Sato promised in November to “examine” the impact of Iran’s restrictions on religious freedom, and in January told an event co-hosted by Article18 that the situation of Christians in the Islamic Republic of Iran was “a matter of serious concern that demands our continued attention”.

The violations reported by her predecessors against Christians, she noted at the event, included “multiple breaches” of Iran’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), including “the rights to liberty and security, to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief [FoRB], freedom of expression, association, peaceful assembly, physical and psychological integrity, privacy, non-discrimination and the rights of persons belonging to minorities”.

Dr Sato’s new report contains a particular focus on the impact of women, including those of minority groups, whom she said “face particularly acute challenges, experiencing multiple forms of discrimination based on their ethnic origin, religion, age and gender, which are further compounded by discriminatory provisions in domestic legislation”. 

“Those intersecting forms of discrimination create systemic barriers to their fundamental rights and heighten their risks of violence, particularly by law enforcement officials,” she said.

The rapporteur said the conditions in women’s prisons, including denial of medical care, “represent systematic violations of those fundamental human rights principles”.

Article18 has reported how Christian convert Mina Khajavi, a 61-year-old who is serving a six-year sentence related to her leadership of a house-church, has been denied medical care in prison, despite suffering from arthritis and being in pain.

Dr Sato called on the Islamic Republic of Iran to ensure prisoners are provided with “access to timely and appropriate healthcare”, as well ensuring that conditions of detention are compatible with international standards.

“Prisoners have the right under international law to healthcare and urgent medical care equivalent to community standards,” she said, “yet the Special Rapporteur has received multiple reports of detainees who were denied essential medical treatment in prisons across the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

Dr Sato said prisoners and detainees must be “protected from all forms of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment” and “confessions obtained through torture or ill-treatment [must] never [be] admitted as evidence in court”, while she decried the use of “vague charges such as ‘threat to national security’ and ‘propaganda against the State’ to justify … persecution”.

The rapporteur further demanded that all individuals are “treated equally before the law, without distinction of any kind, including … religion … or [any] other opinion”, adding that “all accused have the right to a fair trial and due process … including access to a lawyer of their choosing during all stages of the judicial process”.

Iran must “ensure equal treatment in the criminal justice system and equal opportunities in education and employment for all ethnic and recognised and non-recognised religious groups,” she said.

Article18 has reported how Christians have been denied employment or education as a result of their religious beliefs or activities.

“Access to higher education and employment remains severely restricted for members of certain religions,” Dr Sato said, referencing the challenges posed by the “mandatory religious declarations on enrolment forms and restrictions on university entrance exams”.

The rapporteur also noted the “pervasive lack of transparency of government institutions and the challenges of obtaining reliable information in an environment of strict media censorship, where individuals face reprisals for reporting human rights violations”.

Article18’s 2024 annual report was titled “Faceless Victims” to draw attention to the number of victims who chose to remain silent for fear of worsening their plight.

Among other issues, Dr Sato also expressed “serious concern over the widespread restrictions on the right to freedom of opinion and expression and freedom of peaceful assembly and association”, and “significant increase in known executions”.

You can read the full report here.