UN human rights experts call on Iran to halt destruction of Shiraz cemetery

The New Zealand Baha'i community hopes that recent pressure from high-level United Nations human rights experts will halt Iran's ongoing destruction of a historic Baha’i cemetery in Shiraz. The UN has called the desecration an unacceptable violation of freedom of religion.

Director of the NZ Baha'i Office of External Affairs, Bev Watson, said three experts have expressed dismay at reports that the demolition work had resumed in August. “They believe that cemeteries, like places of worship, are an essential part of how people exercise and manifest their right to freedom of religion or belief. Their significance goes beyond their physical presence.”

The Iranian government has been urged to take concrete steps to protect religious minorities.

Ms Watson said Baha'is have suffered at the hands of the government since the religion was founded in Iran in the mid nineteenth century. “We are grateful for the strong stand that these three independent human rights experts have taken on the situation in Shiraz.”

The Shiraz cemetery is the resting place of some 950 Baha’is, many of whom were historic or prominent figures in the Baha’i community of Iran. Interred at the site are 10 Baha'i women whose hanging in 1983 came to symbolize the government's deadly persecution of Baha'is.

Demolition at the site first began in April, undertaken by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, apparently to make way for the construction of a new sports and cultural centre. International pressure halted excavation for several months but recent reports indicated that the work had resumed. Human remains from some 30-50 graves have been removed. A concrete foundation has been poured for the complex which will reportedly include a library, mosque, restaurant, theatre, child care facility, and sports hall.

Pleas to halt the construction from members of the Shiraz Baha'i community have proved futile. “They have been told that local authorities have no control over the Revolutionary Guards,” said Ms Watson. “The only recourse is to apply international pressure.”

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