HC Deb 21 December 1984 vol 70 cc747-52

2 pm

Mr. Roger Freeman (Kettering)

The House will soon be adjourning for the Christmas recess. In this country, Christmas is a time for the unity of the family and religious worship. It is essentially a happy time. For Members of the Baha'i community, of whom there are some 5,000 in this country, it will not be a happy Christmas because they will be thinking of their families, friends and relatives in Iran who are still suffering great persecution. It is to that community that our thoughts and actions should turn. I am grateful for the opportunity of introducing this brief debate on the intense suffering of the Baha'i community in Iran and I am particularly grateful to my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office for coming to reply to the debate. His great interest in the subject is much appreciated.

I emphasise that since my hon. Friend's answer to a written question on 16 May this year, the situation in Iran has worsened. While it is true that recently relations between Britain and Iran have improved — I much welcome that—I do not believe that the position of the Baha'i community has improved at the same time. I ask Her Majesty's Government constantly to remind themselves of the plight of the Baha'i community. I hope that the Minister will have the chance to affirm to the House today that the Government will take full advantage of the recently improved relations with Iran to alleviate in any way they can the problem of the Baha'i community.

I have maintained correspondence with some members of the Baha'i community in my constituency. They live in constant worry for members of their families among the estimated 300,000 Baha'is who have not been fortunate enough to escape from Iran. That fear for the lives of their relatives and friends is profound, and understandably so.

Before explaining the exact nature of the present Baha'i problem, it may be beneficial to the House for me to describe briefly the nature of the Baha'i faith, which is relatively new to me and has been explained clearly by my constituents. It was born and developed under Islam in the middle east in the 19th century. Arnold Toynbee described the faith as an independent religion, on a par with Islam, Christianity and other recognised world religions. Baha'ism is not a sect of some other religion; it is a separate religion and has the same status as other recognised faiths. The implication is that the Baha'i faith is no heresy or perversion of an existing religion, but should be respected as a separate religion.

The Baha'is' creed does not threaten the existing regime in Iran in any way. A fundamental theme is the oneness of mankind, and the teachings of the faith are auxiliary to that principle: they are beliefs in education, individual freedom and equal respect for men and women.

Members of the Baha'i faith support efforts to bring about international unity which, they believe, will ensure progressively more equitable distribution of world wealth. They regard other world religions, however antagonistic their beliefs or morals, as providing the key to international unity.

I draw attention to the comments of Lord McNair who correctly said in another place on 10 February 1982 that the Baha'is reminded him of the Society of Friends, showing the same gentleness, tolerance and rejection of force. They have, however, been persistently subjected to intense persecution in Iran.

Although the 1979 revolution was hailed as a breakthrough for political liberty, persecution has since escalated. Since 1978, 188 named Baha'is have been executed and a further 15 have disappeared. A further 750 are believed to be in prison, 19 under sentence of death. I ask the House to consider the grave implications of that for their families and friends in this country and throughout the world. One of my Baha'i constituents has told me that since 1982 three members of her immediate family have been imprisoned and then hanged. I have also received specific reports of relatives being tortured. The House will understand if I do not go into the details here.

The House should roundly condemn the false justifications advanced by the Iranian Government for their behavior. The Baha'is have been accused of supporting the previous regime. Yet they refused all political appointments under the Shah. They are accused of being anti-Islam. On the contrary, they accept the divinity of the Koran as well as the Bible. Their headquarters in Israel is said to show Zionist sympathies. Yet that headquarters was established 80 years before the creation of the state of Israel. Finally, they are said to form part of a Western conspiracy concocted in the 19th century by the British Foreign Office in league with the United States and Russian Governments and have therefore been arrested on charges of conspiracy. If the Baha'is are not executed for their beliefs but for their alleged illicit activities against the state, that is a paradox as their religion forbids them to be involved in any kind of political activity.

In 1975, the Government of Iran ratified the international convenant on civil and political rights. They have also ratified several other significant covenants which together encapsulate the fundamental rights to life, freedom from torture, fair trial and freedom of conscience and opinion. In 1981, the Islamic Council issued a universal declaration of human rights, granting freedom of creed and protection from harassment by all official agencies. In addition, the Koran itself declares that minority religions must be protected under Moslem law. The treatment of the Baha'i community is therefore in direct contravention of the Iranian Government's own moral and religious principles.

The world in general and Britain in particular are justified in urging the Iranian Government to observe the basic principles of human justice and religious liberty. Those are the cornerstones of our society, and we should not be ashamed of championing those principles and broadcasting their importance to all Governments, especially Iran's. So far the British Government can only be congratulated on their contribution to the efforts o international organisations in condemning Iranian policy.

The United Nations has maintained constant pressure, and as my hon. Friend the Minister said in a written answer in May this year, the United Nations Economic and Social Council has vociferously deplored the persecution. In May 1984, the council decided to appoint a special representative to make a thorough study of the position. I understand that that was endorsed by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights on 29 August. The House would appreciate some information from the Minister as to how matters stand in relation to the United Nations resolution that has the endorsement of the Commission on Human Rights.

Similarly, on 10 April 1983, the European Parliament called upon Iran to suspend the persecution and condemned the gross violation of human rights. The European Parliament asked individual Foreign Ministers to make representations … in order to … halt all manner of persecution and discrimination to which the Baha'i minority is subject. That is a round condemnation and a clarion call. In addition, Australia, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, Canada and the United States of America have all condemned the Iranian persecution.

While the persecution increases, the Government should increase their pressure on Iran. Full advantage should be taken of the recent improvement in relations between the two countries—an improvement which I wholeheartedly welcome. Regrettably, the openings for such action may be limited. The House will realise the many limitations upon direct pressure and persuasion, but the Government should continue to pursue this matter within the forum of international organisations.

The opportunity exists for the Government to exploit the thaw in relations for the good of the Baha'i. Those who are suffering in Iran, and those in my constituency, other constituencies and throughout the world, who live in constant fear for the lives of their families and friends in Iran, beg the Government to do all that they can and to use all their goodwill and muscle, directly and indirectly through international organisations, for the sake of the Baha'i community in Iran.

2.12 pm
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mr. Richard Luce)

My hon. Friend the Member for Kettering (Mr. Freeman) has done the House a service by raising this important matter, and I congratulate him warmly on the great deal of thought that he has put into the issue and on the knowledge that he has displayed of the plight of the Baha'i people in Iran. I assure him that I listened carefully to his views.

This matter causes the Government much concern. Indeed, they have taken several positive steps to try to help the Baha'i community in Iran, and I shall describe some of those steps in a moment. My hon. Friend echoed the disquiet that has been expressed by many hon. Members for many months, if not years. I have received many letters from hon. Members expressing anxiety on behalf of their constituents about the position of the Baha'i community in Iran. I will go further and say that I maintain close contact with representatives of the Baha'i community in the United Kingdom. Only yesterday I met the Secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United Kingdom, Mrs. Hardy, who also visited me in 1983 to express her worries about the Baha'i community in Iran. The assembly in this country keeps me and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials carefully briefed about developments there and their own anxieties—above all, about the imposition of the death penalty on many Baha'is. I can assure my hon. Friend that we shall continue to keep in very close touch with the leaders of the community in this country.

My hon. Friend spoke with great knowledge about the background to the Baha'i faith which, as he said, was established in Iran in the middle of the last century. It grew out of Shia Islam and its adherents describe it as an independent religion but one which is not opposed to Islam. It is a monotheistic faith. It acknowledges all past revelations but to the fundamental believers of Islam the Baha'i faith is regarded as a heresy. Baha'i communities exist in over 150 countries. In 23 countries, over 1 per cent. of the population are Baha'is. It is estimated that there are about 300,000 Baha'is in Iran, a very large number in India and several thousand in Europe. The community in the United Kingdom numbers about 5,000. They are organised into about 190 local assemblies, all of whom elect representatives to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United Kingdom.

There are persistent accounts of the persecution of members of the Baha'i community in Iran, including a number of executions, to which my hon. Friend referred. The Baha'i community is able to produce a good deal of evidence of discrimination and ill treatment. Unlike the Christian community in Iran, the Baha'is are not a protected minority under the constitution. The Iranian authorities claim that no Baha'i has been persecuted or discriminated against as a result of his faith. Rather, they take the line that any Baha'is that suffer punishment do so for other reasons, such as political opposition to the Government, a point to which my hon. Friend referred during the course of his speech.

I should like to comment, first, on the attitude of Her Majesty's Government to human rights as a whole. We deplore the abuses of human rights that occur in many parts of the world. Indeed, in 1978 I wrote a pamphlet on the subject of human rights and foreign policy. A central element in our foreign policy is to work to defend and strengthen human rights in many parts of the world. We all share a sense of outrage over gross abuses, such as summary execution, torture, detention without trial, denial of political rights, repression of religious minorities and many other abuses of human rights. I believe that we in this House all share the desire to use Britain's influence to help to make the world more humane.

In my view, there is no one way of doing this. It is a continuous process of choosing the right means and the right time to take action which is likely to be effective. There is a range of options that we can and do pursue. These include bilateral pressure, representations in conjunction with our partners in the Ten or with other countries in various parts of the world and by taking a leading part in the United Nations—for example, the Commission on Human Rights and the General Assembly. I assure my hon. Friend that we shall maintain all our efforts in this crucial field of human rights. We must, in each individual case, judge the best approach to adopt in order to help those whose rights are violated. The kind of influence we can best bring to bear will vary in each case.

As for Iran, one of several countries in which human rights abuses cause us great concern, the Baha'i community is subject to real and particular suffering. Our overriding concern as a Government, and that of my hon. Friend, is the safety and well-being of those to whom we are trying to give help. We must never at any stage do anything that we believe might jeopardise their prospects. Western representations on behalf of the Baha'i community have, on occasions, served only to strengthen Iranian feelings against the Baha'is. Britain is not the country best placed to make bilateral representations on behalf of the Baha'is. Our historical involvement in Iran is an important factor that militates against our success in this matter at the moment. We must take care not to take action which is counter-productive. I am sure that my hon. Friend would agree with that.

Equally, we shall not be afraid to voice concern and disquiet where that is necessary, appropriate and helpful. Against that background, in general, our best approach on the issue is to act in concert with our partners in the Ten and to couple that with action in international forums. A good deal has been done in both those respects.

The Ten—this is an important area in which we can help with some influence—view the persecution of the Baha'i community with great concern. The Iranian authorities have been made fully aware of the Ten's attitude in that matter through direct contracts with the Iranian Government. We have joined our partners in the Ten in a series of démarches by the representatives of the Ten.

The most recent example of such a démarche was on 2 October this year when representatives of the Ten in Teheran drew the attention of the Iranian Government to the deep concern felt by the Ten over continuing reports of the persecution of the Baha''i community in Iran. The representatives of the Ten handed over to the Iranians a list of the Baha'is reported to have been executed in the previous six months and explained the damage done to the image of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

It was pointed out that the Ten member states, together with Iran, are signatories of the international covenant on civil and political rights, and consequently are under an obligation to take an interest in the matter. The Ten asked for assurances concerning human rights in Iran and the status of the Baha'i community.

The Ten followed that up on 29 November in a speech given by the Irish presidency on behalf of the Ten to the third committee of the United Nations General Assembly drawing attention to the persecution of the Baha'i community and reiterating their support for the appointment of a special representative of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights to make a thorough study of human rights in Iran.

The Ten urgently renewed their appeal to the Government of Iran to adhere to their obligations under the international covenant on civil and political rights. I can assure my hon. Friend that we shall continue to urge the Ten to act vigorously in that way.

Then we come, as my hon. Friend rightly said, to action that we can take in the United Nations. A special representative was appointed following a resolution, cosponsored by the United Kingdom, on human rights in Iran which was adopted on 14 March at the 40th session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. The resolution specifically referred to the Baha'is. In his speech, the United Kingdom delegate to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, Sir Anthony Williams, urged the Government of Iran to accord to all their citizens all the rights to which they are entitled, in particular the right to life, liberty and security of person, the right to a fair trial and the right to profess and practise their views and beliefs—religious, political and other—even when those do not chime with official dogma. Sir Anthony noted that persecution for religious reasons is, in the view of the United Kingdom, as intolerable as persecution for racial reasons. The United Kingdom will continue to take every opportunity to express its views on human rights in Iran at the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. May I suggest to my hon. Friend that this is the most important forum as far as the United Nations is concerned?

My hon. Friend has launched a valuable debate and I have no doubt that the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran will note the views that he has expressed—views that have been echoed in other ways by many other hon. Members. I have sought to set out the Government's position and I have explained carefully the reasons for the steps that we have taken over the past few months. I can assure my hon. Friend that we shall continue to take seriously the views expressed by the Baha'i community and by my hon. Friend and many others.

I shall consider carefully the other points made by my hon. Friend. The plight of the Baha'is is a matter of legitimate international concern, and Her Majesty's Government will continue to take whatever action we judge to be the most helpful in partnership with the international community. I assure my hon. Friend that the anxieties of the Baha'i community will remain a matter of deep concern to my right hon. and learned Friend the Foreign Secretary and myself in the coming months.

Mr. Freeman

I am sure that the House will be very grateful for what the Minister has said. Has he any intelligence on whether the representative appointed by the United Nations commission to which he referred has been able to visit Iran? If not, will the Minister assure the House that when he has some information on the point he will communicate it to those who are interested in the subject, not only in this House but outside?

Mr. Luce

It will be the task of the representative to report back to the United Nations, and that will happen before too long. With regard to the activities of the representative and how far they have gone, I think that it would be best for me to write to my hon. Friend in due course. I shall let him know as soon as I can what progress the representative is making.