It was agreed, — Whereas, this Subcommittee recognizes that on May 14, 2008 six members of an informal body known as the Friends that oversees the needs of the Bahá'í community in Iran were arrested and taken to Evin prison which is noted for its political prisoners wing;
Whereas, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights uncovered a confidential letter from Command Headquarters of the Armed Forces of Iran ordering the identification and monitoring of Bahá'í activities in October 2005;
Whereas, the Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights stated on March 20, 2006, that she "also expresses concern that the information gained as a result of such monitoring will be used as a basis for the increased persecution of, and discrimination against, members of the Bahá'í faith, in violation of international standards… The Special Rapporteur is concerned that this latest development indicates that the situation with regard to religious minorities in Iran is, in fact, deteriorating";
Whereas, the Bahá’í community of Canada is supportive of the six arrested individuals and to the thousands of Bahá’í they believed to have been killed, imprisoned, or otherwise oppressed in Iran, largely due to their religious beliefs;
Whereas, no explanation has been provided by Iranian officials for their detention;
Whereas, the existence of the draft penal code being debated in the Iranian Majlis (parliament) which contains provisions that violate international human rights and which would legitimize the persecution of religious minorities;
Therefore, be it resolved that in the opinion of this sub-committee Iran must either present legitimate and formal charges in the context of a transparent justice system against the six detained Bahá’í members and respect the rights or release them immediately and that Iran begin to respect the humanitarian worth of all of its citizens; and
Be it further resolved, in opinion of this sub-committee that Iran rescind all provisions that would extend, legitimize or provide legal justification for discrimination against Iranian minorities.