Statement by

Ms. Fatemeh Arab Bafrani

Second Secretary

Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations

Before the Third Committee of the 77th Session of the General Assembly

On “Interactive Dialogue with Special Rapporteur on Rights of Minorities”

New York, 20 October 2022

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

I thank you Mr. Chair

My delegation also thanks the special rapporteur for the briefing.

Iran is deeply concerned by the Special Rapporteur's findings on his country visit to the United States. Among other issues, the fact that hate crimes targeting minorities in the country rose to their highest level in over a decade is quite alarming. We share concerns raised by the Special Rapporteur that no federal legislation directly and generally prohibits discrimination on the ground of religion or belief; leaving religious minorities vulnerable to discriminatory practices and policies. We call upon the United States to, inter alia, prohibit racial discrimination in all its forms and broaden the protection afforded by law.

We should also take into account the fact that the negative impact of the US policies is not limited to the American people and minorities living there. The complex set of unilateral sanctions coupled with secondary sanctions against third parties, over-compliance, and zero-risking policies by businesses and financial institutions, exacerbate existing humanitarian and economic challenges and negatively affect the lives of minorities throughout the world.

Mr. Chairman,

Iran consists of ethnicities and ethnic groups; not only are they not considered minorities, but they in principle constitute the majority of the Iranian nation. With the aim of effective enforcement of the constitutional rights of the ethnic communities, the President appointed a special assistant on ethnicities and religious minorities, who is currently a renowned member of our Kurd community.

Iran believes that any advocacy for the rights of minorities should not interfere with the legal and legitimate sovereign rights of member states as well as the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of countries as mentioned in the Declaration.

My question to Mr. Special Rapporteur: How can we tackle with racial discrimination and hate speech against minorities, particularly Muslims in the EU Member States?