Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, has provided the following answer to your written parliamentary question (HL2415):
Question by Lord Alton of Liverpool:
To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of reports of the seizure of 100 hectares of land belonging to Baha’i farmers by agents of the Iranian state in the Province of Mazandaran in January; and what steps they are taking to raise this matter through bilateral or multilateral means. (HL2415)
Tabled on: 13 February 2024
This question was grouped with the following question(s) for answer:
- To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the persecution of members of the Baha’i community, including of reports of the expropriation of farming land in Mazandaran Province; and what assessment they have made of the impact of these actions on this community. (HL2417)
Tabled on: 13 February 2024
Answer:
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon:
The UK condemns the continued persecution of religious minorities in Iran and we are aware of recent reports of land expropriation discriminately targeting the Baha’i community. At the 78th UN General Assembly, we co-sponsored the Iran Human Rights Resolution calling for Iran to eliminate, in law and in practice, all forms of discrimination on the basis of thought, conscience, religion or belief. We are committed to promoting religious freedom and will continue to work with partners and the UK Baha’i community to hold the Iranian authorities to account.
Date and time of answer: 26 Feb 2024 at 17:30.
