§ Motion made, and Question proposed, That this House do now adjourn.—[Mr. Hill.]
§ 11.6 pm
§ Mr. James Clappison (Hertsmere)I am pleased to have the opportunity of raising the important subject of toleration for religious minorities in the middle east, and shall deal with two particularly important issues affecting Iran: toleration of people of the Bahai faith, and toleration of the people of Iran's Jewish community. However, the subject goes wider than Iran, and I appreciate that there are also alarming reports of events in Iraq.
Before dealing with those specific concerns, however, I should like to make it clear that, when I speak of toleration, I am in no sense trying to lecture other countries or to assert that one set of religious or cultural values is superior to another. I should like simply to assert the importance of tolerating the religious beliefs of any minority in any society, whatever that society's political, cultural or religious basis.
In the United Kingdom, such toleration has been hard won over many centuries. Even today, sometimes, that toleration is not as complete as we should wish. I am certainly aware, not of persecution by the state, but of cases in which members of the Muslim community, for example, have suffered from harassment, intolerance and even physical attack, simply because of their religious faith. Therefore, I should like simply to assert the importance of religious toleration.
Many of my constituents are interested in the subject of religious tolerance. On a number of occasions, I have been approached by constituents of mine who are members of the Bahai faith. I know that the hon. Member for Montgomeryshire (Mr. Öpik) is anxious to mention the case of the Bahais, and that my hon. Friend the Member for Chesham and Amersham (Mrs. Gillan) is also very interested in the Bahai community. When Bahais in my constituency have come to see me, I have been impressed both by their character and by their gentle faith. However, in the middle east, especially in Iran, Bahais have faced particular problems of persecution.
Since 1979, more than 200 Iranian Bahais have been killed.
§ Mrs. Cheryl Gillan (Chesham and Amersham)Does my hon. Friend agree that there are difficult decisions for Bahais, who often have had to keep quiet about their problems for fear of recriminations and reprisals against their families in Iran?
§ Mr. ClappisonYes—my hon. Friend makes an excellent point, which has been made also by Bahais to whom I have spoken. Her comment also underlines a report, in September 1998, by the special representative of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, which detailed wide-ranging violations of the basic human rights of the Bahai community. The United Kingdom Foreign Minister who was dealing with the matter—the late Derek Fatchett, taking a characteristically robust stand in defending human rights—made appropriately robust statements on those violations. I am hoping for a similarly robust approach this evening.
939 I should like to draw particular attention to another immediate issue of persecution in Iran—the arrest of 13 members of the Jewish community in Iran on charges of espionage. This is a complex story. There have been changes in Iran since 1979, and the picture today is by no means a simple one. It must be said that members of the Jewish community in Iran are allowed to practice Judaism. They enjoy universal suffrage, and there is a representative of the Jewish community in the Iranian Parliament. There are elements in Iranian society and politics who take an enlightened view. It is important to give a balanced picture.
None the less, the background to this particular case is worrying. There has been persecution of members of the Jewish community in Iran since 1979 and the revolution in that country. At least 17 members of the Jewish community have been executed since then. Some of those executions have taken place recently—one in 1994 and two in 1996.
The 13 now under arrest are facing charges of espionage, a charge that carries the death penalty. There have been reports in some quarters that, at first, they faced charges relating to the sale of alcohol. Those are somewhat strange reports. Espionage has been linked to the consumption of alcohol in individual cases, but not to the sale of alcohol. Today, those people face the serious charge of espionage.
It is necessary to look at the character of those who have been charged with this serious offence to assess the credibility of the charge. That credibility is undermined when one takes into account that among the 13 people are rabbis and religious and community leaders—people of great standing in their community. That says something about the nature of the charges and the background to them. We should not give too much of a cloak of respectability to those charges.
I appreciate that those who are charged with the offences will face the Iranian judicial process, and I know that our Government have made certain representations about that process. We would want the people to receive fair and proper treatment under that process. However, I should like our concern to be expressed even more robustly, and I should like us to express concern at the fact that those people are being placed upon trial at all.
There has been a robust international reaction to the subject from France and Australia, among others. In Britain, Ministers are aware of the issues involved, and one Minister has met a delegation from the all-party inter-parliamentary council against anti-semitism. I appreciate that Ministers have taken an interest in that important subject.
I appreciate that this is a complex subject, and there is a complex background to it. I appreciate also that the Government will want a certain amount of flexibility in how they approach this matter. I urge the Minister to give an assurance that the Government will work in every possible way to protect the 13 people facing those most serious charges, and that they will do everything they possibly can, with their discretion, to bring about their release at the earliest possible opportunity. I hope that our Government will assert the need for toleration of this religious minority, and others, in Iran and throughout the middle east.
§ Mr. Lembit Öpik (Montgomeryshire)First, I thank the hon. Member for Hertsmere (Mr. Clappison) and the Minister for allowing me to contribute to the debate.
I am not a Bahai myself, but I have come to know and deeply respect their values and traditions. As the hon. Member for Hertsmere said, they have a gentle character which is distinct and defines the nature of their faith.
With 300,000 members, the Bahais are Iran's largest religious minority. Unlike the Christian, Jewish and Zoroastrian minorities, they are not recognised as a religion by the Iranian constitution; as such, they are classified as unprotected infidels, and have no legal rights, even though Iran is a signatory to the international convention on civil and political rights.
The UN special representative to Iran, Maurice Copthorne, reported:
the situation of the Bahais has not improved; in some respects it has deteriorated".In July 1998, Ruhullah Rawhani was executed for being a Bahai. Even now, 14 Bahais languish in Iranian prisons, four of them facing death sentences. Iranian Bahais are barred from taking degrees; they cannot hold state sector jobs; their marriages are not respected; and many have even had their businesses repossessed by the state. It seems that their burial sites have even been desecrated.Iran has yet to honour in full the recommendations of the special rapporteur on religious intolerance, Abdelfattah Amor. His proposals would emancipate all Iran's religious minorities. If they were introduced in phases, as the Bahais have suggested, there would be no need for any changes in the Iranian constitution.
Britain has been a good friend to the Bahais. It backed the resolution condemning Iran at the 55th session of the UN Commission on Human Rights. It is my view that past action by our Government has helped considerably in the fight for decent human rights for Iranian Bahais. I ask the Minister to give an assurance that the Government will continue actively to help Iranian Bahais in both word and deed—thereby, we hope, putting an end to this terrible persecution.
§ The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mr. Tony Lloyd)I am grateful to the hon. Member for Hertsmere (Mr. Clappison) for raising this important subject, which concerns a fundamental matter of human rights. I want to place on record the Government's policy on religious minorities in the middle east, whose plight has been highlighted recently by the detention on espionage charges of members of the Iranian Jewish community. Promotion of human rights is central to our foreign policy and religious freedom is a fundamental human right. All hon. Members would share that view.
We take every opportunity, working with our European Union partners, to urge all states to pursue laws and practices that foster tolerance and mutual respect and to protect religious minorities against discrimination and intimidation, wherever it happens and whatever the religion of the individual or group concerned. We also regularly raise with the Governments concerned specific cases of religious persecution.
941 The human rights instruments of the United Nations set clear principles to be applied by states to protect the rights of everyone to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion. We are right to press all states, without exception, to adhere to those principles. Wherever possible, we aim to work with officials, religious leaders and non-governmental organisations at international and local level to promote mutual understanding and tolerance. Where the possibility of meaningful dialogue on human rights issues exists, I believe that it is the best way of achieving lasting improvements.
The human rights policy department of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has recently started an informal consultation group to bring together a number of non-governmental organisations working for religious freedom. We use the group to exchange information not only about instances of abuse but about practical ways of tackling abuse and promoting tolerance. That is the longer-term agenda, but it is every bit as important as the necessary action that is taken in response to particular moments of persecution.
The hon. Members for Hertsmere, for Montgomeryshire (Mr. Öpik) and for Chesham and Amersham (Mrs. Gillan) all spoke about Iran. However, I recognise the point made by the hon. Member for Hertsmere. There have been some especially positive developments in Iran over the past two years, which should not be ignored and which bode well for the future.
The Iranian Government under President Khatami have undertaken a programme of significant change, which includes the enforcement of the rule of law, full facilitation of freedom of expression and a more open and co-operative foreign policy. Those steps should help to create an environment more conducive to the protection of individual rights and freedoms.
The Iranian Government have made significant progress with the programme. In particular, there is now an unprecedented freedom of debate in Iran, as most impartial observers recognise. The role of the press is increasingly prominent: it is becoming more open and critical and is having an impact, especially on the use of torture. We welcome and recognise those changes.
The effort to establish a civil society based on the rule of law has made progress as well. Democracy has been extended. The first local elections were held on 26 February, and showed overwhelming popular support for the reforms taking place in Iran. The Iranian Government are also steadily improving their relations with their neighbours, especially in the Persian gulf. That is a particularly welcome development. Iranian co-operation is vital for future stability in the region, but we must look at the country's record in the round, and I take on board what has been said about the two groups that hon. Members have mentioned.
I shall turn first to the question of the Jewish detainees. I hope that I can demonstrate that the Government have been active, bilaterally and through our multilateral arrangements and partnerships. Specifically, we and our European Union partners remain especially concerned about the recent detention of members of the Iranian Jewish community. We first became aware some weeks ago that a number of Jews had been detained without charge in Iran, but some time had passed since the detentions took place.
942 It was not easy initially to establish the truth amid the rumours circulating about what had happened. We have been in regular contact with the Agudas Israel organisation, both in the UK and, through our mission in New York, in the United States. We have also been in touch with the Board of Deputies of British Jews and with the other bodies and organisations that have drawn attention to these cases. The more reliable accounts now seem to indicate that 13 Iranian Jews have been detained. On 7 June, it became apparent, first through media reports from Iran and then officially, that they had been accused of espionage.
Before that news broke on 7 June, the German European Union presidency—representing all EU Governments—on a visit to Tehran on 20 May had already expressed the concern of member states at these detentions. That was followed up by a formal EU demarche in Tehran on 30 June. The Minister of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Ashfield (Mr. Hoon) made a statement on 10 June expressing the Government's strong concern about those detained. The Iranian ambassador was summoned on 1 July, when my hon. Friend pressed for a fair trial and access for visitors.
Many of our EU partners have taken similar action. Our ambassador in Tehran has also raised our concerns bilaterally with the Iranian authorities. We welcome one positive step—the Iranian Government's recent confirmation, following the arrests, that they accept responsibility for individuals of every religious persuasion in Iran, including specifically the Jewish community, which is officially recognised under the Iranian constitution. The constitution thereby guarantees them a fair trial. As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs has said:
The Government condemn anti-semitism wherever it occurs"—[Official Report, 22 June 1999; Vol. 333, c. 915.].That applies as much to Iran as to anywhere, and we shall continue to monitor the situation, and take further action as necessary.Our priority will be action most likely to help those detained. This is more than a simple human rights issue, as it goes to the heart of president Khatami's declared objective of fully establishing the rule of law in Iran.
§ Mr. ClappisonThe Minister will be aware that the Government have received a representation from, among others, Mr. Netanyahu, the former Prime Minister of Israel. The shadow Foreign Secretary, my hon. Friend the Member for Stratford-on-Avon (Mr. Maples), has asked the Government to make public their response to that contact. Will the Minister tell us something about that?
§ Mr. LloydI cannot give the hon. Gentleman a response about the Government's position. Normal practice is that representations from individuals, of whatever background, are treated as confidential, and it is for individuals to make their representations known if they wish to. I shall, however, look into the matter, and may write or speak to the hon. Gentleman in due course.
I can confirm what was said by the hon. Member for Montgomeryshire about the plight of the Bahai community in Iran. Unlike the Christian community, the Jewish community and the Zoroastrian community, which have special protection under the Iranian constitution, the rights of the Bahai have no such protection. Their plight 943 has been of serious concern for some time, and it remains so. We and our EU partners have raised our concerns with the Iranian authorities on many occasions. I was grateful for the hon. Gentleman's remarks about the role played by our deceased colleague Derek Fatchett, who made his extremely forthright views on human rights known to the Iranian authorities.
Persecution of individuals on religious grounds is totally unacceptable, whether or not a group is recognised by the constitution. The United Nations Commission on Human Rights resolution on Iran, sponsored by the EU and adopted on 23 April, reaffirmed international concern about the situation. We supported the resolution, which clearly signals the concerns of the entire international community.
We and our EU partners have also raised individual cases of concern with the Iranian authorities, most recently the cases of Mr. Najafabadi and Mr. Dhabihi-Mugaddam, both of whom face the death sentence. We were told on 4 October that their cases were subject to review by the Iranian supreme court. To date the sentences have not been carried out, and we have been led to believe that they will not be. That is welcome, but we await certainty on that point.
We also raised our concerns about the arrests at the end of last year of members of the Bahai institute of higher education, which relates particularly to the point made by the hon. Member for Montgomeryshire about access to education. The concern of successive British Governments has been marked and continuous, and we shall continue to press it.
The hon. Member for Hertsmere referred to Iraq, and I can put religious tolerance into a wider regional context. Religious minorities in Iraq have long been subject to discrimination and oppression. Simple expressions of belief lead to fear of arrest or imprisonment, as has been recognised by the UN Commission on Human Rights which, in its resolution on Iraq earlier this year, called on the Government of Iraq to respect and ensure the rights of all individuals, irrespective of their origin, ethnicity, gender or religion.
One interesting feature is that the majority Shia community, which amounts to about two thirds of the population, is the most persecuted group in Iraq. Reports from the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, Max van der Stoel, whose specific brief is Iraq, show a systematic policy of intimidation against the Shi'ite religious community. Amnesty International has drawn attention to reports from June 1998 when hundreds of Shia Muslims were arrested by security forces in 944 Karbala during processions to celebrate a religious anniversary. Scores of others were shot dead when Iraqi forces opened fire indiscriminately.
Mr. van der Stoel described the systematic attacks and assassinations of Shia clerics, such as the murder of Ayatollah al-Sadr in February, as part of a planned policy aimed at discouraging religious leaders from freely expressing their opinions and religious beliefs. Amnesty International believes that more than 100 Shi'ite clerics have disappeared since 1991.
The regime treats other religious minorities similarly, for example the Assyrian Christians, Turkomen and Yazidis, who all face ill treatment and repression. The fate of 33 members of the Yazidi community, for example, who were arrested in July 1996 remains unknown. Iraqi opposition groups have released documents that detail on-going ethnic cleansing of the Kirkuk region of its Kurdish and Turkomen residents. Similarly, in December, Iraqi tanks and troops entered an Assyrian village near Mosul, causing the inhabitants to flee.
I could continue at length, but time prevents the full record being established. As Max van der Stoel stated, the current regime has effectively eliminated freedom of thought, expression, association and assembly, in addition to the civil rights to life, liberty and physical integrity. There can be no doubt that, for the foreseeable future, the people of Iraq will not enjoy respect for their religious beliefs or their other human rights.
I thought that it was worth while establishing that contrast, not because we are sanguine about intolerance of religious minorities in Iran—of course we are not—but to point out that in the Iranian context we at least believe that we have the possibility of constructive dialogue. It is a dialogue that we will use forcefully. Sadly, I cannot tell the House that similar dialogue is possible with Iraq.
I reiterate to all hon. Members the central point that the Government are committed to a foreign policy that has human rights as its very essence. Of course, religious freedom must be one of the essentials. It is enshrined in international law and covenant and it is something that we as a Government will continue to pursue because we have a duty to do so.
I will contact the hon. Gentleman about Mr. Netanyahu and I am grateful to him for giving us the opportunity to have this important debate. While the House is not packed, its voice will be heard in Iran and Iraq and the message of concern and condemnation will spread much more widely than the small number of hon. Members here tonight would suggest.
§ Question put and agreed to.
§ Adjourned accordingly at twenty-seven minutes to Twelve o'clock.