NEW YORK — A new resolution adopted by the United Nations General Assembly’s Third Committee has sharply condemned the Iranian government’s human rights record, renewing global attention on the plight of religious minorities, particularly the Bahá’í community, Iran’s largest non‑Muslim minority.
Passed with 79 votes, an increase of two over the previous year, the resolution highlights what it describes as “a continued increase in and the cumulative impacts of long-standing persecution” against a wide range of recognized and unrecognized religious minorities, naming “in particular, Bahá’ís,” as well as Christians, Gonabadi Dervishes, Jews, Sufi and Sunni Muslims, Yarsanis and Zoroastrians. The resolution notes that these groups face intensified attacks, harassment, and targeting, with women and girls in minority communities at “particular risk.”
“We are gratified that, once again, the United Nations General Assembly’s Third Committee has rebuked the Islamic Republic for its systematic persecution of the Bahá’ís in Iran, for almost 50 years now,” said Bani Dugal, Principal Representative of the Bahá’í International Community to the United Nations. “Highlighting the cumulative impact of more than four decades of persecution of the Bahá’ís is a particular strength of this resolution,” Ms. Dugal added, “and it is essential for the international community to appreciate the appalling human costs of the Iranian government’s repressive policies.”
“We continue to hope that Iran will heed the call to uphold the human rights of all its citizens, including the Bahá’í community, who have suffered long enough,” Ms. Dugal said.
The resolution criticizes the Iranian government for systematic repression based on religious identity, citing reports of enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests without due process, and disproportionately harsh prison sentences. It further documents property confiscation, destruction of homes and businesses, and the arrest of prominent and elderly community members. The General Assembly, in passing this resolution, has urged once again the Islamic Republic to end these practices and “to cease monitoring individuals on account of their religious identity, to release all religious practitioners imprisoned for their membership in or activities on behalf of a minority religious group, [and] to cease the desecration of cemeteries.”
Speaking ahead of the vote, Brazil’s Mission stated, “We reiterate our support for the rights of all religious minorities, including the Bahá’ís, to practice their faith freely and without any discrimination.” The United Kingdom Mission stated, “ We remain deeply concerned by Iran’s repression of freedom, of religion, of belief. … State linked media intensified, scapegoating and incitement towards religious minorities, in particular the Bahá’ís,” as well as Christians. “We stand with these communities’ right to practice their faiths freely and without state interference,” the UK Mission added.
A central focus of the resolution is Iran’s penal code, specifically Articles 499 bis and 500 bis, which criminalize non-Muslim religious expression. Last year’s resolution also highlighted these recent additions to the penal code—exemplifying the ongoing structural human rights concerns at the General Assembly regarding the Iranian government’s posture toward religious minorities.
The continued enforcement of these articles, the resolution states, “has significantly escalated discrimination and violence,” enabling the authorities to arrest Bahá’ís and other minorities on baseless charges. This has been accompanied by a surge in economic restrictions through “the closure, destruction or confiscation of businesses, land and properties, the cancellation of licences and the denial of employment in certain public and private sectors.”
The resolution calls on Iran “to eliminate, in law and in practice, all forms of discrimination on the basis of thought, conscience, religion or belief, including … economic restrictions, such as the closure, destruction or confiscation of businesses, land and properties, the cancellation of licences and the denial of employment in certain public and private sectors, including government or military positions and elected office, the denial of and restrictions on access to education, including for members of the Bahá’í and other religious minorities, and other acts involving human rights violations or abuses against persons belonging to recognized and unrecognized religious minorities,” sentiments which responds to years of repressive measures against Bahá'ís, systematic exclusion of Bahá'í students from universities and professional pathways, and efforts to block the community’s progress and development.
Recent events in Iran have reinforced these concerns. In October, ten Bahá’í women in Isfahan were sentenced to a combined 90 years in prison for organising educational and cultural activities. Independent UN experts also issued a late 2024 joint statement denouncing ongoing home raids, travel bans, and prolonged sentences imposed on Bahá’í women, describing these actions as a continuous pattern of targeted discrimination.
Parallel reporting by human rights organisations—including the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center and Human Rights Watch—has documented the breadth of violations against the Bahá’í community by Iranian government, from executions and imprisonment to economic, cultural, and educational exclusion. Human Rights Watch characterised the 45‑year campaign against Bahá’ís as amounting to the crime against humanity of persecution.
The resolution concludes with a call for Iran to honour its obligations under international law, including ensuring the right to “freedom of thought, conscience and religion or belief” for all its citizens. It underscores that the situation facing Bahá’ís and other minorities is not isolated but part of a broader pattern of repression affecting the entire society.
This latest decision by the UN General Assembly adds renewed pressure on Iran to undertake meaningful reforms and to halt the systemic violations documented across decades. A plenary vote on the resolution will be held in December.
