{"componentChunkName":"component---src-templates-archive-page-jsx","path":"/archive/44/","result":{"pageContext":{"strings":{"about":"About","additional_articles":"Additional Articles","administration":"Administration","africa":"Africa","all_bahaiorg_sites":"All Bahai.org Sites","all_sites":"All sites","all_sites_arising_serve":"Arising to Serve","all_sites_arising_serve_caption":"A film recounting highlights of the 41 regional Bahá’í conferences called by the Universal House of Justice in 2008","all_sites_bahai_org":"The official website of the worldwide Bahá’í community","all_sites_bahai_org_library":"Bahá’í Reference Library","all_sites_bahai_org_library_caption":"The authoritative online source of Bahá’í writings","all_sites_bahaullah_org":"The Life of Bahá’u’lláh","all_sites_bahaullah_org_caption":"A photographic narrative of the life of Bahá’u’lláh","all_sites_bic":"Bahá’í International Community Representative Offices","all_sites_bic_caption":"The official website of the Bahá’í International Community’s Representative Offices. The site contains news and information about recent activity and provides access to BIC statements, reports, and other publications","all_sites_bicentenary":"Bicentenary of the Birth of Bahá’u’lláh","all_sites_bicentenary_bab":"Bicentenary of the Birth of The Báb","all_sites_bicentenary_caption":"The official international website for the bicentenary of the birth of Bahá’u’lláh","all_sites_frontiers_learning":"Frontiers of Learning","all_sites_frontiers_learning_caption":"This film captures the insights and experiences of people from four communities across the world whose efforts to build vibrant communities are at the frontiers of learning","all_sites_light_to_the_world":"Light to the World","all_sites_light_to_the_world_caption":"A feature film about the life and teachings of Bahá’u’lláh","all_sites_media_bank":"Bahá’í Media Bank","all_sites_media_bank_caption":"Photographs available for downloading","all_sites_national_communities":"National Bahá’í Communities","all_sites_national_communities_caption":"A page containing links to the websites of many national Bahá’í communities from around the world","all_sites_news_bahai_org_caption":"The official news website of the worldwide Bahá’í community","all_sites_title":"Official Bahá’í Sites","all_sites_universalhouseofjustice_org":"The Universal House of Justice","all_sites_universalhouseofjustice_org_caption":"Information about the Universal House of Justice and selected statements and letters","all_sites_widening_embrace":"A Widening Embrace","all_sites_widening_embrace_caption":"A documentary film about the community-building efforts of the Bahá’í world","americas":"Americas","android":"Android","archive_results_to_of_a":"Results","archive_results_to_of_b":"to","archive_results_to_of_c":"of","asia":"Asia","back_to_story":"Back to Story","bahai_international_community":"Bahá'í International Community","bahai_media_bank":"Bahá’í Media Bank","bahai_reference_library":"Bahá’í Reference Library","bahai_world_centre":"Bahá’í World Centre","bahai_world_news_service":"Bahá’í World News Service","bahai_world_news_service_bwns":"Bahá’í World News Service (BWNS)","bahaiorg_home":"Bahai.org Home","bahais_semnan":"The Bahá’ís of Semnan","battambang_cambodia_house_worship":"House of Worship in Battambang, Cambodia","battambang_cambodia_temple":"Battambang, Cambodia Temple Inauguration","before_downloading_terms":"Before downloading please refer to the [Terms of use](/legal/).","bic_un_office":"Bahá’í International Community\nUN Office","brief_history":"Brief history","bwns_noTranslation":"BWNS","cdn_documentlibrary_path":"http://dl.bahai.org/bwns/assets/documentlibrary/","cdn_images_path":"//bwns.imgix.net/","chile_house_worship":"Chile House of Worship","chile_temple":"Chile Temple Inauguration","close":"Close","closed_doors_denial_education_iran":"Closed Doors: Denial of Education in Iran","comma":",","comprehensive_report":"Comprehensive report","contact":"Contact","contact_h1":"Contacting the Bahá’í World News Service","contact_h2":"Contacting Bahá’í institutions","contact_h3":"Reporting technical problems","contact_information":"Contact Information","contact_p1":"General inquiries about BWNS can be directed to [news@bahai.org](mailto:news@bahai.org). Information regarding news and media contacts is available in the [Media Information](/media-information/) section.","contact_p2":"The Bahá’í Faith is established in more than 100,000 localities in virtually every country and territory around the world. At the national level, the affairs of the Bahá’í community are guided by National Spiritual Assemblies, and a list of websites for many national Bahá’í communities can be found at the [National Communities page](https://www.bahai.org/national-communities/) on Bahai.org.","contact_p3":"To report a technical problem with this site, please send a detailed description and screenshot of the issue, along with the address of the page where it occurred, to [webmaster@bahai.org](mailto:webmaster@bahai.org). Please note that this email address exists to receive reports of technical problems with the site and it is not possible to respond to other queries through this facility.","copy_link":"Copy Link","did_not_match_any_documents_showing_results_for":"did not match any documents. Showing results for","did_you_mean":"Did you mean:","download":"Download","download_highest_resolution":"Download highest resolution","email":"Email","email_address":"Email Address","enlarge":"Enlarge","error_page":"Error Occurred","error_page_p1":"Sorry. An error has occurred with your request. It would help us if you let us know what you were trying to do when this error occurred by using our [contact form](https://www.bahai.org/contact/).","europe":"Europe","featured_stories":"Featured stories","featured_videos":"Featured videos","follow_updates_via_instagram_twitter":"Follow the Bahá’í World News Service on Twitter and Instagram for regular updates and stories","from_bwns_archive":"From the Bahá’í World News Service archive","get_notified_stories":"Get notified of stories","highest_resolution":"Highest resolution","historical_photographs":"Historical photographs","homepage_feature_audio_h2":"Recent podcast episodes","homepage_feature_audio_h3":"Audio versions of stories","homepage_feature_audio_p1":"Selected audio content from around the globe","homepage_feature_h1":"Subscribe to BWNS Updates","houses_worship":"Houses of Worship","human_rights_iran":"Human Rights in Iran","images":"images","ios":"iOS","iran_news_stories":"Iran News Stories","key_terms_facts":"Key terms and facts","latest_headlines":"Latest headlines","latest_video_category":"Latest","legal":"Legal","legal_h1":"Privacy","legal_h2":"Terms of Use","legal_information":"Legal Information","legal_li_1":"They must at all times be attributed to the Bahá’í World News Service.","legal_li_2":"Photographs and stories cannot be used in any way (including, without limitation, suggesting an association with or endorsement of any product, service, opinion or cause) that conflicts with the intent and premise of the original source.","legal_li_3":"Photographs may be edited for size only. Captions must remain with the photographs at all times.","legal_li_4":"The Bahá’í World News Service will not be responsible to any person or organization for any liability for any direct, incidental,  consequential, indirect, or punitive damages that may result from any access to or use of the stories and/or photographs on our site.","legal_li_5":"Although this blanket permission to reproduce BWNS material is given freely such that no special permission is required, the Bahá’í World News Service retains full copyright protection for its stories and photographs under all applicable national and international laws.","legal_p1_1":"On this Web site we try to ensure your privacy. We collect only personal information provided by you on a voluntary basis, in order to respond to your queries and to send you any additional information and material that you request.","legal_p1_2":"Visitors to this Web site are not tracked, except to produce aggregate statistical data that does not identify individual users. Where we must use cookies to provide essential functionality, these are not used to track your use of the site or to store personally-identifiable information. Steps have been taken to ensure that all information collected from you will remain secure, free from unauthorized access, use or disclosure. Please keep in mind that if you leave this site via a link, the other site may have a different policy regarding privacy.","legal_p1_3a":"We occasionally update this privacy policy and encourage you to review it periodically. If you wish to correct your personal information, or have questions regarding this policy, please send an email message to","legal_p1_3b":"or call the Bahá’í World News Service at +972 (4) 835-8412, between 8 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. GMT +2, Sunday through Thursday.","legal_p2_1":"All stories and photographs produced by the Bahá’í World News Service may be freely reprinted, e-mailed, posted to the World Wide Web and otherwise reproduced by any individual or organization, subject to the following restrictions:","legal_p2_2":"The Bahá’í World News Service is an agency of the Bahá’í International Community, a nongovernmental organization that represents and encompasses the five million members of the Bahá’í Faith.","links_other_websites":"Links to other Web sites","listen":"Listen","listen_bwns":"Listen to BWNS","load_more_results":"Load more results","media_bank":"Media Bank","media_information":"Media Information","media_information_about_bwns":"About BWNS","media_information_administration_h2":"International","media_information_administration_h3":"National","media_information_administration_h4":"Local","media_information_administration_p1":"The Bahá’í Faith is administered by a series of elected bodies at the local, national, and international levels. There is no class of ecclesiastics or clergy.","media_information_administration_p2":"The Universal House of Justice is the international governing council of the Bahá’í Faith. It is the supreme administrative body ordained by Bahá’u’lláh in His book of laws. The Universal House of Justice is elected every five years at the International Bahá’í Convention, where members of the National Spiritual Assemblies (see below) around the world serve as delegates. The Universal House of Justice was first elected in 1963. Its permanent seat is on Mount Carmel in Haifa.","media_information_administration_p3":"At the national level, the affairs of the Bahá’í community are administered by the National Spiritual Assembly, a nine-member elected council responsible for guiding, co-ordinating, and stimulating the activities of Local Spiritual Assemblies and individual members of the Bahá’í community within a given country. The responsibilities of a National Spiritual Assembly include channelling the community’s financial resources, fostering the growth and vibrancy of the national Bahá’í community, supervising the affairs of the community including its social and economic development activities and its properties, overseeing relations with government, resolving questions from individuals and Local Spiritual Assemblies, and strengthening the participation of the Bahá’í community in the life of society at the national level.","media_information_administration_p4":"At the local level, the affairs of the Bahá’í community are administered by the Local Spiritual Assembly. Each Local Assembly consists of nine members who are chosen in annual elections. As with all other elected Bahá’í institutions, the Assembly functions as a body and makes decisions through consultation. The responsibilities of the Local Spiritual Assembly include promoting the spiritual education of children and young people, strengthening the spiritual and social fabric of Bahá’í community life, assessing and utilizing the community’s resources, and ensuring that the energies and talents of community members contribute towards progress.","media_information_administration_p5":"In addition, the Bahá’í Faith has **counsellors**, appointed to five-year terms by the Universal House of Justice, who serve as advisers in countries and regions around the world. Currently there are 90 such counsellors assigned to specific countries or regions, and an additional nine counsellors who constitute the membership of the International Teaching Centre at the Bahá’í World Centre in Haifa.","media_information_administration_p6":"The Bahá’í International Community is a non-governmental organization that represents the worldwide Bahá’í community. It has been registered with the United Nations (UN) as a non-governmental organization since 1948. It currently has consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social council (ECOSOC) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), as well as accreditation with the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) and the United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI). The Bahá’í International Community collaborates with the UN and its specialized agencies, as well as member states, inter- and non-governmental organizations, academia, and practitioners. It has Representative Offices in Addis Ababa, Brussels, Cairo, Geneva, Jakarta, and New York.","media_information_bahai_world_centre_li_4_a":"the Seat of the Universal House of Justice,","media_information_bahai_world_centre_li_4_b":"the International Teaching Centre,","media_information_bahai_world_centre_li_4_c":"the Centre for the Study of the Texts,","media_information_bahai_world_centre_li_4_d":"the International Archives Building.","media_information_bahai_world_centre_p1":"The spiritual and administrative center of the Bahá’í Faith is permanently established in the Acre-Haifa area of northern Israel, following the explicit instructions of Bahá’u’lláh.","media_information_bahai_world_centre_p2":"The burial place, or shrine, of Bahá’u’lláh near Acre and that of the Báb on Mount Carmel in Haifa are the holiest spots on earth for Bahá’ís. Other sites associated with the life of Bahá’u’lláh as well as the burial site of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá are revered by Bahá’ís as holy places.","media_information_bahai_world_centre_p3":"The shrines are the object of pilgrimage for thousands of Bahá’ís each year.","media_information_bahai_world_centre_p4":"The administrative offices are positioned in an Arc across Mount Carmel in Haifa and include:","media_information_bahai_world_centre_p5":"Also in Haifa are the Bahá’í International Community’s Secretariat and Office of Public Information.","media_information_bahai_world_centre_p6":"The Bahá’í World Centre is known for the gardens surrounding the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh near Acre, and also for the gardens and terraces surrounding the golden-domed Shrine of the Báb on Mount Carmel in Haifa.","media_information_bahai_world_centre_p7":"At this time the Shrine of the Báb is open to the public.","media_information_brief_history_p1":"The Bahá’í Faith traces its origin to 1844 and the announcement by a young man, Siyyid ‘Alí-Muhammad, in Shiraz, Persia (now Iran), that He had been sent by God to prepare humanity for a new age and the imminent appearance of another Messenger even greater than Himself.","media_information_brief_history_p10":"During the 40 years of His exile, Bahá’u’lláh revealed a series of books, tablets, and letters that today form the core of the **holy writings of the Bahá’í Faith**. Comprising the equivalent of some 100 volumes, the writings of Bahá’u’lláh describe the nature of God and the purpose of human existence, give new religious laws, and outline a vision for creating a peaceful and prosperous global society.","media_information_brief_history_p11":"In His will, Bahá’u’lláh named His eldest son, ‘Abbás Effendi (1844-1921), as the head of the Bahá’í Faith and authorized interpreter of His teachings. ‘Abbás Effendi, known to Bahá’ís as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (“Servant of Bahá”), became well-known in the Haifa/Acre area for his charitable works, and he also traveled through Europe and North America to encourage nascent Bahá’í communities and to proclaim Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings to the general public. The writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá are considered part of the sacred scriptures of the Bahá’í Faith.","media_information_brief_history_p12":"‘Abdu’l-Bahá passed away in 1921. In his will he had designated his grandson **Shoghi Effendi** (1897-1957) as his successor, with the title of **Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith**. During the ministry of Shoghi Effendi, the religion spread around the world, and its local and national administrative institutions were established. With the passing of Shoghi Effendi in 1957, the line of hereditary leaders of the Bahá’í Faith came to an end.","media_information_brief_history_p13":"Following provisions established by Bahá’u’lláh, in 1963 the **Universal House of Justice** was elected to direct the affairs of the worldwide Bahá’í community. The nine members of the Universal House of Justice are elected every five years by the members of the Bahá’í national administrative bodies around the world.","media_information_brief_history_p2":"Siyyid ‘Alí-Muhammad took the title of the **Báb** (meaning “Gate” in Arabic) and said the one whose coming He foretold would be the universal Manifestation of God sent to inaugurate an age of peace and enlightenment as promised in all the world’s religions.","media_information_brief_history_p3":"The Báb’s teachings, which spread rapidly, were viewed as heretical by the clergy and government of Persia. More than 20,000 of His followers, known as Bábís, perished in a series of massacres throughout the country.","media_information_brief_history_p4":"The Báb Himself was publicly executed in the city of Tabriz on 9 July 1850.","media_information_brief_history_p5":"Bahá’ís consider the Báb to be both an independent Messenger of God and the forerunner of **Bahá’u’lláh** (“the Glory of God” in Arabic), who is the founder of the Bahá’í Faith.","media_information_brief_history_p6":"Bahá’u’lláh, whose name was Mírzá Husayn ‘Alí, was born into a noble family in Tehran on 12 November 1817. In His mid-20s, He declined a life of privilege and became one of the leading disciples of the Báb.","media_information_brief_history_p7":"In 1852, in the course of the persecution of the Bábís, He was arrested, beaten, and thrown into an infamous dungeon in Tehran. After four months, He was released and banished from His native land – the beginning of 40 years of exile and imprisonment.","media_information_brief_history_p8":"He was first sent to Baghdad, where He and His companions stayed for 10 years. In 1863, on the eve of His further banishment to what is now Turkey and then to the Holy Land, Bahá’u’lláh announced that He was the Universal Messenger of God foretold by the Báb.","media_information_brief_history_p9":"In 1868, Bahá’u’lláh arrived in the Holy Land with about 70 family members and followers, sentenced by the Ottoman authorities to perpetual confinement in the penal colony of Acre. The order of confinement was never lifted, but because of the growing recognition of His outstanding character, He eventually was able to move outside the walls of the prison city. He lived His final years at a country home called Bahjí, where He passed away in 1892. He was interred there, and His shrine is the holiest place on earth for Bahá’ís.","media_information_description":"Contacts, facts, style guide,\ngeneral information, and photos","media_information_h1":"National and local","media_information_h2":"International","media_information_h2_a":"Bahá’í World News Service","media_information_h2_b":"Bahá’í International Community","media_information_h2_c":"Bahá’í International Community - United Nations Offices:","media_information_h2_e":"For languages other than English:","media_information_houses_worship_li_1":"Wilmette, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1953.","media_information_houses_worship_li_2":"Kampala, Uganda. Opened in 1961.","media_information_houses_worship_li_3":"Sydney, Australia. Opened in 1961.","media_information_houses_worship_li_4":"Frankfurt, Germany. Opened in 1964.","media_information_houses_worship_li_5":"Panama City, Panama. Opened in 1972.","media_information_houses_worship_li_6":"Apia, Samoa. Opened in 1984.","media_information_houses_worship_li_7":"New Delhi, India. Opened in 1986.","media_information_houses_worship_li_8":"Santiago, Chile. Opened in 2016.","media_information_houses_worship_li_9":"Battambang, Cambodia. Opened in 2017.","media_information_houses_worship_li_10":"Norte del Cauca, Colombia. Opened in 2018.","media_information_houses_worship_li_11":"Matunda Soy, Kenya. Opened in 2021.","media_information_houses_worship_li_12":"Tanna, Vanuatu. Opened in 2021.","media_information_houses_worship_li_13":"Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Opened in 2023.","media_information_houses_worship_li_14":"Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. Opened in 2024.","media_information_houses_worship_p1":"Bahá’u’lláh designated Bahá’í Houses of Worship as spiritual gathering places for prayer and meditation around which will cluster social, humanitarian, educational, and scientific institutions. Eight continental, two national, and four local Bahá’í Houses of Worship have been built.","media_information_houses_worship_p2":"The physical structure of a House of Worship comprises a central building—a House of Worship—along with several dependencies. While the House of Worship forms the focal point of worship in a geographical area, its purpose is not solely to provide a place for prayer. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá explained that, through the provision of education, healthcare and other services it is also to support the social and economic progress of the community and afford shelter, relief and assistance to those in need. In this connection, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá anticipated that subsidiary branches—such as a hospital, school, university, dispensary, and hospice—would gradually be added to a House of Worship. Bahá’u’lláh refers to the House of Worship as a Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, Arabic for “dawning place of the mention of God.”","media_information_houses_worship_p3":"Bahá’í Houses of Worship are located in:","media_information_houses_worship_p4":"Plans are underway to build a national House of Worship in Brazil, Canada, and Malawi. A local House of Worship is also being constructed in Batouri, Cameroon; Bihar Sharif, India; Kanchanpur, Nepal; and Mwinilunga, Zambia. At the local level, meetings for worship are held regularly in Bahá’í centers and in the homes of believers all over the world.","media_information_key_terms_facts_h1":"Name of the religion and of the organization – the Bahá’í Faith","media_information_key_terms_facts_h2":"Founder of the Bahá’í Faith – Bahá’u’lláh","media_information_key_terms_facts_h3":"Year of founding – 1844","media_information_key_terms_facts_h4":"Head of the religion – the Universal House of Justice","media_information_key_terms_facts_h5":"Number of Bahá’ís – more than 5 million","media_information_key_terms_facts_h6":"Description of the religion and key beliefs","media_information_key_terms_facts_li_6_a":"the unity of the races and elimination of prejudice,","media_information_key_terms_facts_li_6_b":"the equality of women and men,","media_information_key_terms_facts_li_6_c":"universal education,","media_information_key_terms_facts_li_6_d":"the elimination of extremes of wealth and poverty,","media_information_key_terms_facts_li_6_e":"a spiritual solution to economic problems,","media_information_key_terms_facts_li_6_f":"establishment of a universal auxiliary language,","media_information_key_terms_facts_li_6_g":"the harmony of science and religion,","media_information_key_terms_facts_li_6_h":"the independent investigation of truth,","media_information_key_terms_facts_li_6_i":"the creation of a world commonwealth of nations that will keep the peace through collective security.","media_information_key_terms_facts_p1_a":"The Bahá’í Faith is an independent world religion.","media_information_key_terms_facts_p1_b":"A member is called a Bahá’í (plural: Bahá’ís). It is also correct to say that someone is a “member of the Bahá’í Faith,” a “follower of the Bahá’í Faith,” a “follower of Bahá’u’lláh,” or a member of the Bahá’í community of a given locality.","media_information_key_terms_facts_p1_c":"The term “Bahá’í International Community” refers to the non-governmental organization that represents the worldwide Bahá’í community. It has been registered with the United Nations (UN) as a non-governmental organization since 1948. It currently has consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social council (ECOSOC) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), as well as accreditation with the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) and the United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI). The Bahá’í International Community collaborates with the UN and its specialized agencies, as well as member states, inter- and non-governmental organizations, academia, and practitioners. It has Representative Offices in Addis Ababa, Brussels, Cairo, Geneva, Jakarta, and New York.","media_information_key_terms_facts_p2":"Bahá’ís consider Bahá’u’lláh to be the most recent in a line of great religious teachers, or Messengers of God, that includes Abraham, Buddha, Jesus Christ, Krishna, Muhammad, Moses, Zoroaster, and others. Bahá’u’lláh—the name is Arabic for “Glory of God”—was born in 1817 in Tehran, Iran, and passed away in 1892 in Acre, Israel. The coming of Bahá’u’lláh was announced by the Báb (Arabic for “Gate”), also considered by Bahá’ís to be a divine Messenger.","media_information_key_terms_facts_p3":"There are a number of important dates in the establishment of the Bahá’í Faith, but the first announcement by the Báb of the new religion came in 1844.","media_information_key_terms_facts_p4":"The Universal House of Justice is the international governing council of the Bahá’í community, an elected body of nine men. Its seat is at the Bahá’í World Centre in Haifa, Israel. Around the world, in almost all countries, a National Spiritual Assembly oversees the affairs of the Bahá’í Faith in that country, and Local Spiritual Assemblies oversee local affairs.","media_information_key_terms_facts_p6_a":"The Bahá’í Faith is an independent, monotheistic religion established in virtually every country of the world. Bahá’ís believe that the world’s major religions represent unfolding chapters in God’s teachings for humankind, and that the writings of Bahá’u’lláh represent God’s guidance for this age.","media_information_key_terms_facts_p6_b":"Bahá’u’lláh’s central teaching is the unity of humanity under one God.","media_information_key_terms_facts_p6_c":"Among the many Bahá’í principles are the following:","media_information_key_terms_facts_p7":"For more information, see [Bahai.org](https://www.bahai.org).","media_information_li_a_1":"Phone (office): +972 (4) 835-8412","media_information_li_a_2":"E-mail, for news inquiries: [news@bahai.org](mailto:news@bahai.org)","media_information_li_b_1":"Mr. Saleem Vaillaincourt (London)","media_information_li_b_2":"Senior information officer","media_information_li_b_3":"Phone (office): +1 (212) 803-2544","media_information_li_b_4":"E-mail: [media@bic.org](mailto:media@bic.org)","media_information_li_c_1":"Ms. Bani Dugal (New York)","media_information_li_c_2":"Principal Representative of the Bahá’í International Community to the United Nations","media_information_li_c_3":"Bahá’í International Community","media_information_li_c_4":"Phone: +1 (212) 803-2500","media_information_li_c_5":"After-hours phone: +1 (914) 329-3020","media_information_li_c_6":"E-mail: [uno-nyc@bic.org](mailto:uno-nyc@bic.org)","media_information_li_d_1":"Ms. Simin Fahandej (Geneva)","media_information_li_d_2":"Representative of the Bahá’í International Community to the United Nations","media_information_li_d_3":"Bahá’í International Community","media_information_li_d_4":"Phone: +41 (27) 798-5400","media_information_li_d_5":"After-hours phone: +41 (78) 880-0759","media_information_li_d_6":"E-mail: [geneva@bic.org](mailto:geneva@bic.org)","media_information_li_e_1":"Persian – Simin Fahandej, +41 (27) 798-5400","media_information_li_e_2":"French – Rachel Bayani, +32 (475) 750394","media_information_li_e_3":"To arrange other languages +972 (4) 835-8412","media_information_media_contacts":"Media Contacts","media_information_p1":"Editors, journalists, and other media professionals are encouraged to contact the National Office of the Bahá’ís of their own country. See [National Communities](https://www.bahai.org/national-communities/).","media_information_p2":"BWNS reports on major developments and endeavors of the global Bahá’í community.","media_information_p3":"Information about the Bahá’í Faith is available at [Bahai.org](https://www.bahai.org/)","media_information_p_native":"The website for BWNS is located at [news.bahai.org](https://news.bahai.org/)","media_information_photographs_p1":"To arrange for photographs, you are encouraged to contact the office of the National Spiritual Assembly of the  Bahá’ís of your country. See [National Communities](https://www.bahai.org/national-communities/).","media_information_photographs_p2":"For more information, or for international photographs, contact the Bahá’í World Centre:","media_information_photographs_p3":"Phone: +972 (4) 835-8412  \n            E-mail: [news@bahai.org](mailto:news@bahai.org)","media_information_photographs_p4":"Photographs here may be downloaded and published, with photo credit given to the Bahá’í World Centre. [Terms of use](https://news.bahai.org/legal/).","media_information_photographs_p5":"Additional photos are available through the [Bahá’í Media Bank](https://media.bahai.org/). Images attached to articles in the [Bahá’í World News Service](https://news.bahai.org/) main site may also be downloaded.","media_information_photographs_p6":"Photographs of Bahá’ís imprisoned in Iran are available in the [Iran Update](/human-rights/iran/iran-update/photos.html) section of this Web site.","media_information_sidecontent_h1":"Bahá’ís in Iran","media_information_sidecontent_li":"Updates, background, photos","media_information_statistics_p1":"There are more than 5 million Bahá’ís in the world.","media_information_statistics_p2":"The Bahá’í Faith is established in virtually every country and in many dependent territories and overseas departments of countries. Bahá’ís reside in well over 100,000 localities. About 2,100 indigenous tribes, races, and ethnic groups are represented in the Bahá’í community.","media_information_statistics_p3":"There are currently 188 councils at the national level that oversee the work of communities. A network of over 300 training institutes, offering formal programs of Bahá’í education, span the globe.","media_information_statistics_p4":"Of the several thousand Bahá’í efforts in social and economic development, more than 900 are large-scale, sustained projects, including more than 600 schools and over 70 development agencies.","media_information_statistics_p5":"There are currently 14 Bahá’í Houses of Worship – in Australia, Cambodia, Chile, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Germany, India, Kenya, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Uganda, the United States, and Vanuatu. Plans are underway to build a national House of Worship in Brazil, Canada, and Malawi. Local Houses of Worship are also being constructed in Batouri, Cameroon; Bihar Sharif, India; Kanchanpur, Nepal; and Mwinilunga, Zambia. At the local level, meetings for worship are held regularly in Bahá’í centers and in the homes of believers all over the world.","media_information_statistics_p6":"The Bahá’í International Community has been registered with the United Nations as a non-governmental organization since 1948. It currently has consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social council (ECOSOC) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), as well as accreditation with the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) and the United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI). The Bahá’í International Community collaborates with the UN and its specialized agencies, as well as member states, inter- and non-governmental organizations, academia, and practitioners. It has Representative Offices in Addis Ababa, Brussels, Cairo, Geneva, Jakarta, and New York.","media_information_statistics_p7":"Bahá’í writings and other literature have been translated into more than 800 languages.","media_information_statistics_p8":"Each year, around one million people visit the Bahá’í Shrine, terraces, and gardens on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel.","media_information_statistics_p9":"In Iran, where the Bahá’í Faith originated, there are now about 300,000 Bahá’ís, constituting the largest religious minority in that country.","media_information_style_guide_h1":"Pronunciation guide","media_information_style_guide_h2":"Style guide and glossary","media_information_style_guide_p1":"**Bahá’í:**   Ba-HIGH  \n            **Bahá’u’lláh:**   Ba-ha-ul-LAH  \n            **Báb:**   Bahb (Bob)  \n            **‘Abdu’l-Bahá:**   Abdul ba-HAH  \n            **Naw-Rúz:**   Naw Rooz  \n            **Ridván:**   REZ-vahn","media_information_style_guide_p2_1":"**‘Abdu’l-Bahá** (1844-1921) – The son of Bahá’u’lláh who was the head of the Bahá’í Faith from 1892 to 1921. Bahá’u’lláh in His will had designated ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as His successor. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá occupies a special station as the authoritative interpreter of the writings of Bahá’u’lláh and as the perfect example of how a Bahá’í should live. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá traveled widely through Europe and North America from 1911-1913, explaining his Father’s teachings in talks, interviews, and addresses at universities, churches, temples, synagogues, and missions for the poor. (Bahá’ís capitalize pronouns—for example, “He”—that refers to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá out of respect for his special station. Such pronouns are not capitalized in this guide in deference to international journalistic style and also to avoid confusion with Bahá’u’lláh and the Báb, who are considered to be divine Prophets.) For more information, see [Bahai.org](https://www.bahai.org).","media_information_style_guide_p2_10":"**Bahá’í Faith** – The correct term for the religion is the Bahá’í Faith. It is an independent, monotheistic religion established in virtually every country of the world. It is not a sect of another religion. In a list of major religions, it would look like this: Hinduism, Zoroastrianism,  Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, the Bahá’í Faith.","media_information_style_guide_p2_11":"**Bahá’í International Community** – The Bahá’í International Community is a non-governmental organization that represents the worldwide Bahá’í community. It has been registered with the United Nations as a non-governmental organization since 1948. It currently has consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social council (ECOSOC) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), as well as accreditation with the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) and the United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI). The Bahá’í International Community collaborates with the UN and its specialized agencies, as well as member states, inter- and non-governmental organizations, academia, and practitioners. It has Representative Offices in Addis Ababa, Brussels, Cairo, Geneva, Jakarta, and New York. For more information, see [bic.org](https://www.bic.org).","media_information_style_guide_p2_12":"**Bahá’í World Centre** – The spiritual and administrative center of the Bahá’í Faith, comprising the holy places in the Haifa/Acre area in northern Israel and the Arc of administrative buildings on Mount Carmel in Haifa. The Bahá’í World Centre itself uses the spelling “Centre”; elsewhere both “Centre” and “Center” are used, depending on the custom of the country.","media_information_style_guide_p2_13":"**Bahá’u’lláh** – The founder of the Bahá’í Faith, who lived from 1817 to 1892, considered by Bahá’ís to be the most recent divine Messenger, or Manifestation of God, in a line of great religious figures that includes Abraham, Buddha, Jesus, Krishna, Moses, Muhammad, Zoroaster, the Báb, and others. Bahá’u’lláh was born in Tehran in present-day Iran, and passed away near Acre, in what is now Israel. “Bahá’u’lláh” is a title that means the “Glory of God” in Arabic; His name was Mírzá Husayn-‘Alí. His writings, which would equal about a hundred volumes, form the basis of the Bahá’í teachings. For more information, see [Bahai.org](http://www.bahai.org).","media_information_style_guide_p2_14":"**Bahjí** – The place near Acre where the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh (His burial place) is located, as well as the mansion that was His last residence and surrounding gardens. It is a place of pilgrimage for Bahá’ís. The word “Bahjí” is Arabic for “delight.”","media_information_style_guide_p2_15":"**children’s classes** – Classes in moral education, open to all, that are provided for children, operated at the community level by the Bahá’í training institute.","media_information_style_guide_p2_16":"**Convention** – See [International Bahá’í Convention](#internationalbahaiconvention) and [National Bahá’í Convention](#nationalbahaicconvention).","media_information_style_guide_p2_18":"**counsellor** – An adviser appointed by the Universal House of Justice who serves in a particular geographic area or at the Bahá’í World Centre in Haifa. At present, there are 90 counsellors assigned to specific countries or regions, and nine counsellors who form the membership of the International Teaching Centre at the  Bahá’í World Centre. Appointments are for five years.","media_information_style_guide_p2_19":"**devotional meetings** – Gatherings, often in people’s homes, for prayers and to read the sacred writings of the Bahá’í Faith and other religions. Usually undertaken as an individual initiative.","media_information_style_guide_p2_2":"**accent marks** – Bahá’í, Bahá’u’lláh, and other names are written with accent marks, but many publications and websites do not have the facility for using such marks.","media_information_style_guide_p2_20":"**fast, the** – A period during which Bahá’ís abstain from food and drink from sunrise to sundown during the Bahá’í month of ‘Alá’, from 2 March to 20 March. Bahá’u’lláh enjoined His followers to pray and fast during this period. The sick, the traveler, and pregnant women, among others, are exempt.","media_information_style_guide_p2_21":"**feast** – See [Nineteen Day Feast](#nineteendayfeast).","media_information_style_guide_p2_22":"**Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith** – See [Shoghi Effendi](#shoghieffendi).","media_information_style_guide_p2_23":"**Haifa** – The city in northern Israel that, along with nearby Acre, is the location of the Bahá’í World Centre. The international administrative buildings of the Bahá’í Faith (including the Seat of the Universal House of Justice), the Shrine of the Báb, and surrounding terraces and gardens are all located on Mount Carmel in the heart of Haifa.","media_information_style_guide_p2_24":"**Holy days** – Eleven days that commemorate significant Bahá’í anniversaries. The nine holy days on which work is suspended are the Birth of Bahá’u’lláh, the Birth of the Báb, Declaration of the Báb, Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh, Martyrdom of the Báb, Naw-Rúz, Ridván (a 12-day festival, of which the first, ninth and 12th days are holy days). The other two holy days are the Day of the Covenant and the Ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. *See names of individual holy days.*","media_information_style_guide_p2_25":"**Holy Land** – The area associated with present-day Israel, which is holy to a number of religions, including to Bahá’ís. The resting places of Bahá’u’lláh near Acre and of the Báb in Haifa are, to Bahá’ís, the holiest spots on earth.","media_information_style_guide_p2_26":"**International Archives Building** – One of the buildings at the Bahá’í World Centre on Mount Carmel in Haifa. The repository of many sacred relics of the Bahá’í Faith, it is visited by thousands of Bahá’í pilgrims each year.","media_information_style_guide_p2_27":"**International Bahá’í Convention** – A gathering every five years of delegates from around the world to consult on the affairs of the Bahá’í Faith and elect the members of the Universal House of Justice. Members of the National Spiritual Assemblies serve as delegates.","media_information_style_guide_p2_28":"**International Teaching Centre** – One of the institutions at the Bahá’í World Centre in Haifa. The International Teaching Centre has nine members, all counsellors appointed by the Universal House of Justice. Appointments are for five years.","media_information_style_guide_p2_29":"**Local Spiritual Assembly** – At the local level, the affairs of the Bahá’í community are administered by the Local Spiritual Assembly. Each Local Assembly consists of nine members who are chosen in annual elections. As with all other elected Bahá’í institutions, the Assembly functions as a body and makes decisions through consultation. The responsibilities of the Local Spiritual Assembly include promoting the spiritual education of children and young people, strengthening the spiritual and social fabric of Bahá’í community life, assessing and utilizing the community’s resources, and ensuring that the energies and talents of community members contribute towards progress.","media_information_style_guide_p2_3":"**Acre**– English rendering of the name of the city north of Haifa where Bahá’u’lláh was exiled in 1868. He lived in or near the city until His passing in 1892. Bahá’ís often use the Arabic name, ‘Akká, which was the name in general use during the time of Bahá’u’lláh. In Hebrew the name is Akko.","media_information_style_guide_p2_30":"**Mount Carmel** – In Haifa, Israel, site of the Bahá’í World Centre, including several Bahá’í holy places, the most important of which is the Shrine of the Báb, and the buildings housing the administrative offices of the Bahá’í World Centre.","media_information_style_guide_p2_31":"**National Bahá’í Convention** – In each country, the annual gathering of elected delegates to discuss the affairs of the Bahá’í Faith in their jurisdiction and to elect the members of the National Spiritual Assembly.","media_information_style_guide_p2_32":"**National Spiritual Assembly** – At the national level, the affairs of the Bahá’í community are administered by the National Spiritual Assembly, a nine-member elected council responsible for guiding, co-ordinating, and stimulating the activities of Local Spiritual Assemblies and individual members of the Bahá’í community within a given country. The responsibilities of a National Spiritual Assembly include channelling the community’s financial resources, fostering the growth and vibrancy of the national Bahá’í community, supervising the affairs of the community including its social and economic development activities and its properties, overseeing relations with government, resolving questions from individuals and Local Spiritual Assemblies, and strengthening the participation of the Bahá’í community in the life of society at the national level.","media_information_style_guide_p2_33":"**Nineteen Day Feast** – An administrative gathering at the local level. The term refers to a spiritual “feast” of prayers,  consultation and fellowship. It is held every 19 days, on the first day of each Bahá’í month.","media_information_style_guide_p2_34":"**pilgrimage** – Each year thousands of Bahá’ís undertake pilgrimage, during which they forge a profound and lasting connection with the spiritual and administrative centre of their Faith, located in the Haifa-Acre area of what is now northern Israel. Bahá’í pilgrims pray and meditate at the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh and the Shrine of the Báb, as well as in the beautiful gardens that surround them. They also draw inspiration from the time spent at various historical sites associated with the lives of Bahá’u’lláh, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and Shoghi Effendi, as well as from visits to the edifices dedicated to the worldwide administration of the Bahá’í Faith.","media_information_style_guide_p2_35":"**progressive revelation** – The central belief that Manifestations of God have successively provided the guidance necessary for humanity’s social and spiritual evolution.","media_information_style_guide_p2_36":"**Regional Bahá’í Council** – In some countries, the National Spiritual Assembly assigns certain of its functions to Regional Bahá’í Councils, which serve a designated geographical area within the land in question. The responsibilities of a Regional Council may include carrying out policies of the National Spiritual Assembly, supervising progress of particular plans and projects, and taking steps to stimulate and coordinate the growth of the Bahá’í community within the region.","media_information_style_guide_p2_37":"**Shoghi Effendi** (1897-1957) – The head of the Bahá’í Faith from 1921 to 1957. His title is Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith. He is the grandson of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and the great-grandson of Bahá’u’lláh. For more information, see [Bahai.org](https://www.bahai.org).","media_information_style_guide_p2_38":"**Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh** – The resting place of the mortal remains of Bahá’u’lláh, located near the city of Acre in what is now Israel. The shrine is the holiest spot on earth to Bahá’ís and a place of pilgrimage.","media_information_style_guide_p2_39":"**Shrine of the Báb** – The resting place of the mortal remains of the Báb, located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. It is a sacred site to Bahá’ís and a place of pilgrimage.","media_information_style_guide_p2_4":"**‘Akká, Akko** – See entry above for “[Acre](#acre)”.","media_information_style_guide_p2_40":"**study circles** – A study circle is one of the principal elements of the process of distance education offered by the [Bahá’í training institute](https://www.bahai.org/action/response-call-bahaullah/training-institute). It is a small group that meets regularly to study the institute course materials.","media_information_style_guide_p2_41":"**Universal House of Justice** – The international governing council of the Bahá’í Faith. It is the supreme administrative body ordained by Bahá’u’lláh in His book of laws. The Universal House of Justice is elected every five years at the International Bahá’í Convention, where members of the National Spiritual Assemblies around the world serve as delegates. The Universal House of Justice was first elected in 1963. Its permanent seat is on Mount Carmel in Haifa.","media_information_style_guide_p2_5":"**Arc** – An area on Mount Carmel in Haifa, shaped like an arc, where the major international administrative buildings of the Bahá’í Faith, including the Seat of the Universal House of Justice, are situated.","media_information_style_guide_p2_6":"**Báb** – The title, meaning “Gate,” assumed by Siyyid ‘Ali-Muhammad, the Founder of the Bábí Faith and the Forerunner of Bahá’u’lláh. Considered by Bahá’ís to be one of the twin Manifestations of God associated with the Bahá’í Faith. Born on 20 October 1819, the Báb proclaimed Himself to be the Promised One of Islam and said His mission was to announce the imminent coming of another Messenger even greater than Himself, namely Bahá’u’lláh. Because of these claims, the Báb was executed by firing squad in the public square in Tabriz on 9 July 1850. His remains were hidden in Iran for many years before being taken to Haifa/Acre in 1899 and buried on Mount Carmel in 1909. For more information, see [Bahai.org](http://www.bahai.org).","media_information_style_guide_p2_7":"**Bábí Faith** – The religion founded by the Báb. After 1863 and the announcement by Bahá’u’lláh that He was the Messenger whose coming had been foretold by the Báb, the Bahá’í Faith gradually became established and most followers of the Báb began to call themselves Bahá’ís.","media_information_style_guide_p2_8":"**Badí‘ calendar** – The Bahá’í calendar, consisting of 19 months of 19 days each, with the addition of intercalary days known as Ayyám-i-Há. The number of these intercalary days varies according to the timing of the vernal equinox in the northern hemisphere in successive years. The first day of the year corresponds to the spring equinox. The Bahá’í era (B.E.) begins with 1844, the year of the Báb’s declaration. For more information, see [Bahai.org](https://www.bahai.org/action/devotional-life/calendar).","media_information_style_guide_p2_9":"**Bahá’í** – (1) A noun referring to a member of the Bahá’í Faith. The plural is Bahá’ís. (2) An adjective describing a person, place, or thing related to the Bahá’í Faith. Examples: a Bahá’í book, the Bahá’í community, a Bahá’í holy day, a Bahá’í holy place.","media_reports":"Media Reports","menu":"Menu","meta_description_bwns":"The Bahá’í World News Service - BWNS - The official news source of the worldwide Bahá’í community, reports on major developments and endeavors of the global Bahá’í community.","minutes_short":"min","mobile_app":"Mobile app","national_bahai_communities":"National Bahá’í Communities","news_email":"news@bahai.org","news_service_home":"BWNS Home","no_matches_for":"No matches for","no_results_for":"No results for","number_of":"of","oceania":"Oceania","official_news_site":"Official news source of the worldwide Bahá’í community","one_country":"One Country","other_bahai_sites":"Other Bahá’í Sites","other_sites":"Other sites","other_stories":"Other Stories","overview_section":"Overview of this Section","page_link":"Page link","photographs":"Photographs","photographs_download":"Photographs for download","podcast":"Podcast","podcast_available":"Podcast available","podcast_description_bwns":"Reporting on major developments and endeavors of the global Bahá’í community.","podcast_p1":"The Bahá’í World News Service (BWNS) podcast reports on major developments and endeavors of the global Bahá’í community.","podcast_subscribe":"Subscribe to the BWNS podcast for additional audio content.","print":"Print","privacy":"Privacy","recent_articles":"Recent Articles","recent_headlines":"Recent headlines","recent_media_reports":"Recent media reports","recieve_stories_email":"Receive stories via email","related_stories":"Related Stories","results":"Results","return_top":"Return to top","rss":"RSS","search":"Search","search_bahai_reference_library":"Search the Bahá’í Reference Library","search_bahaiorg":"Search Bahai.org","search_news_service":"Search the News Service","section_shrine_of_abdulbaha_description":"Read reports on the progress","section_shrine_of_abdulbaha_title":"Coverage of Construction Work of the Shrine of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá","see_all":"See All","seven_bahais_leaders":"The Seven Bahá’í Leaders","share":"Share","share_this_article":"Share this article","share_this_page":"Share this page","show_more":"Show more","sign_up":"Sign Up","slideshow":"Slideshow","social_media_name_instagram":"Instagram","social_media_name_instagram_account":"bahaiworldnewsservice","social_media_name_twitter":"Twitter","social_media_name_twitter_account":"bahainews","special_reports":"SPECIAL REPORTS","special_reports_shrine_construction":"Coverage of construction work for the Shrine of ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá","statistics":"Statistics","story_archive":"Story Archive","style_glossary_pronunciation_guide":"Style guide, glossary and pronunciation guide","subscribe":"Subscribe","subscribe-confirmation-message":"Thank you for your interest in Bahá’í World News Service (BWNS)","subscribe-souble-optin-email":"You will receive an email shortly, asking you to confirm your subscription.","subscribe_bot_submission":"This doesn't look like a human submission.","subscribe_check_email":"Please check your email to confirm your subscription!","subscribe_email_exists":"This email already exists! 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Now, world leaders are preparing to return...","date":"2012-06-10","customDateline":false,"city":"RIO DE JANEIRO","country":"BRAZIL","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581916-91400.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581916-91400.jpg"},"imageDescription":"A brochure cover for the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development. The Rio+20 logo shows the three components of sustainable development – social equity, economic growth and environmental protection – connected in the shape of a globe.","imageStyle":"canvas-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"In 1992, the Rio Earth Summit was one of the largest events ever organized by the United Nations. Now, world leaders are preparing to return to the city to consult about the global path to sustainable development – an idea that was first broadly raised here two decades ago.\n\nRepresentatives from governments, the private sector, and civil society – including members of the worldwide Baha'i community – are joining the deliberations on how to reduce poverty, advance social equity and ensure environmental protection.\n\nWhile the Rio+20 Conference, officially known as the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, opens in 10 days time, as many as 50,000 people are also expected for a series of parallel events, some of which are already under way.\n\nBaha'i delegate Peter Adriance was present at the Earth Summit in 1992. \"We have made significant progress on certain aspects of sustainable development since then,\" he said. \"The term is much more widely understood and used now. Many communities, businesses and institutions have adopted new and innovative approaches to address the challenges of sustainability.\"\n\n\"On the other hand, many issues are so much more pressing than they were 20 years ago. Some of the same challenges persist, and in addition we have a heightened concern over such matters as climate change and the worldwide economic crisis.\"\n\nThe importance of ethics and spirituality as motivating factors in the promotion of sustainable development will be a major thread of the Baha'i contribution to Rio+20.\n\n\"One of our main aims will be to talk to other participants about the broad moral and ethical principles that lie behind efforts to eliminate the extremes of wealth and poverty and to preserve the earth's environment for future generations,\" said May Akale, who – with Daniel Perell – is heading the 13-strong Baha'i International Community delegation to the Conference.\n\n\"Our goal is to talk about some of the deeper issues involved in sustainable development,\" added Mr. Perell, \"asking questions like 'What does it mean to be a member of the human family?' and 'How does that influence our daily lives or affect the institutions of governance in the world?'\"\n\nBaha'i participation at the Conference includes:\n\n– The submission of a formal statement from the Baha'i International Community.\n\n– The co-sponsorship of two side events at the main UN conference site on 13 June addressing the topics of the “extremes of wealth and poverty in a green economy” and “synergies between faith values and education for sustainable development.”\n\n– Participation in \"Youth Blast,\" a parallel conference for young people. Specifically, the Baha'i International Community is sponsoring an interactive workshop on \"trusteeship in the context of sustainable development.\"\n\n– The organization of two side events by the Brazilian Baha'i community at the People's Summit, a parallel civil society conference that commences this Friday. The sessions will explore \"spiritual principles for development\" and the \"social role of religions.\"\n\n– Members of the Baha'i-inspired International Environment Forum will participate in several pre-conference meetings, including the \"Global Research Forum on Sustainable Consumption and Production,\" and the \"Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for Sustainable Development.\""}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Related articles from the Baha'i World News Service"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":896,"relatedStoryCaption":"Commission discusses role of rural women in poverty and hunger eradication."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":868,"relatedStoryCaption":"Ten faith traditions address the environmental impact of their pilgrim sites."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":829,"relatedStoryCaption":"Faith communities call on G8 to act on climate change, development and peace."}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":913,"evergreenUrl":"calls-iran-uphold-right-education-intensify","title":"Calls for Iran to uphold right to education intensify","description":"The Baha'i International Community has joined with 16 other non-governmental organizations to call upon the government of Iran to urgently address...","date":"2012-05-31","customDateline":false,"city":"GENEVA","country":"SWITZERLAND","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581905-91300.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581905-91300.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Seven Baha'i educators currently serving prison terms are (top row, left to right): Mahmoud Badavam, Ramin Zibaie, Riaz Sobhani, Farhad Sedghi; (bottom row, left to right) Noushin Khadem, Kamran Mortezaie, and Kamran Rahimian.","imageStyle":"large-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"The Baha'i International Community has joined with 16 other non-governmental organizations to call upon the government of Iran to urgently address the state of higher education in the country.\n\nA joint statement addressed to Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is the latest in a growing number of protests around the world at Iran's abuses of the right to education.\n\nIn their statement launched today, the 17 organizations note that more than 600 students, and some university lecturers, have been arrested since 2009 for peacefully expressing their opinions. Hundreds have been deprived of education for their political beliefs, while student gatherings, publications, and organizations have been shut down.\n\n\"The right to education for all persons without discrimination is explicitly guaranteed under international instruments, which Iran has accepted or to which it is party,\" they write. \"It is also guaranteed under Iran's Constitution.\"\n\nIn addition to the Baha'i International Community, the statement is signed by such organizations as Amnesty International, the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, Human Rights Watch and United4Iran.\n\n[Read more about the statement here.](http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/6160/t/0/blastContent.jsp?email_blast_KEY=1207026)\n\nThey also note that Iran's minorities face systematic deprivation and discrimination in education. \"Authorities have prevented – and specifically targeted – members of the Baha'i Faith from pursuing higher education solely on the basis of their religious beliefs...\" the statement says.\n\nIn May 2011, Iranian authorities raided homes of Baha'is associated with an informal community initiative, known as the Baha'i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE). A number of Baha'i educators were arrested and are currently serving four- or five-year jail terms.\n\nThe statement strongly urges Iran to release \"immediately and unconditionally all Iranian students and higher education personnel who have been jailed for peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association, and assembly, including educators at the Baha'i Institute of Higher Education, and including those who have expressed political opinions...\"\n\nIran is also urged to abolish \"all policies and practices that discriminate against or otherwise violate the rights of religious and ethnic minorities...particularly the Baha'i community, including in regard to their access to higher education and academic freedom.\"\n\n**Other recent actions**\n\nA report released on 17 May by the **Iranian Advocacy Council for the Right to Education** (ACRE) – an organization founded by students who have been banned from education – also detailed the discrimination faced by university students in Iran.\n\n\"The educational apartheid has specifically gained speed over the past three years, with hundreds of students...banned from pursuing their education through rulings issued by disciplinary committees on campuses and the Ministry of Science's disciplinary committee,\" the report stated.\n\nIn Belfast, Northern Ireland, the Students' Union Council at **Queen's University** passed a motion on 26 April condemning Iran's denial of access to higher education for Baha'is and others.\n\nThe Council called on its Executive Management Committee to adopt \"a policy to assist ... BIHE thus allowing us to build links through education and resource sharing that will benefit the Baha'i community in Iran during a time of oppression and open persecution.\"\n\nIn an editorial published on 23 May in ***Embassy*** – Canada's foreign policy newspaper – Roger Blockley, former Carleton University Dean of Graduate Studies, wrote, \"Canadian university presidents should approach their national and international organizations with a view to sanctioning Iranian universities until they accord Baha'i students equal treatment.\" \n"}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"The Baha'is of Iran"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"The Trial of the Seven Baha'i Leaders\" - Special Report](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/yaran-special-report/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"Closed Doors: Iran's Campaign to Deny Higher Education to Baha'is\" - Special Section](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/education-special-report/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[BWNS Iran Update](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/iran-update.html)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"Inciting Hatred: Iran's Media Campaign to Demonize Baha'is\" - Special Report](http://bic.org/resources/documents/inciting-hatred-book)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[List of BWNS articles](http://www.bahai.org/persecution/iran)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Latest Iran-related articles from the Baha'i World News Service"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":912,"relatedStoryCaption":"US government spokesman says Iran's human rights record continued to display \"many negative trends\" last year."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":911,"relatedStoryCaption":"Members of Canadian Parliament voice grave concern about violations."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":910,"relatedStoryCaption":"Imprisonment of Baha'is reflects oppression facing all Iranians who desire progress."}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[{"tagName":"defence"}],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":912,"evergreenUrl":"report-reveals-grim-picture-human-rights-iran","title":"Report reveals \"grim picture\" of human rights in Iran","description":"Iran's human rights record continued to display \"many negative trends\" last year, according to a US government spokesman. Assistant Secretary...","date":"2012-05-27","customDateline":false,"city":"WASHINGTON","country":"UNITED STATES","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581893-91200.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581893-91200.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Michael H. Posner – U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor – speaking at the press briefing on the 2011 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices on Thursday 24 May, 2012. Mr. Posner particularly noted the 20-year prison sentences given to each of Iran's seven former Baha'i leaders.","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Iran's human rights record continued to display \"many negative trends\" last year, according to a US government spokesman.\n\nAssistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Michael H. Posner, described the current situation as \"a very grim picture.\"\n\nSpeaking at the [press briefing](http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/rm/2012/190837.htm) on the 2011 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, Mr. Posner noted – among other abuses in Iran –intolerance of dissent, restrictions on freedom of speech, unfair trials, and extensive use of the death penalty.\n\nHe also particularly highlighted the 20-year prison sentences given to each of Iran's seven former Baha'i leaders. \"It is a human rights situation that is very disturbing, and we'll continue to call it out,\" he said.\n\nThe [2011 annual report](http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrightsreport/index.htm?dynamic_load_id=186425#wrapper), released last Thursday 24 May, devoted some 77 pages to the situation in Iran, detailing a continued \"crack down on women's rights activists, ethnic minority rights activists, student activists, religious minorities, and environmental activists\" – including members of the Baha'i Faith.\n\nOne section describes, for example, how the constitution in Iran allows the government to seize property acquired \"in a manner not in conformity with Islamic law\" and how this law has been used to harass religious minorities, particularly Baha'is.\n\nThe annual Human Rights Reports assess each country's situation against universal human rights standards. Their findings inform U.S. policymakers and serve as a reference for other governments, international institutions, non-governmental organizations and other interested individuals.\n\nLaunching the report, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said, \"These reports, which the United States Government has published for nearly four decades, make clear to governments around the world: We are watching and we are holding you accountable. And they make clear to citizens and activists everywhere: You are not alone. We are standing with you.\""}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"The Baha'is of Iran"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"The Trial of the Seven Baha'i Leaders\" - Special Report](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/yaran-special-report/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"Closed Doors: Iran's Campaign to Deny Higher Education to Baha'is\" - Special Section](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/education-special-report/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[BWNS Iran Update](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/iran-update.html)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"Inciting Hatred: Iran's Media Campaign to Demonize Baha'is\" - Special Report](http://bic.org/resources/documents/inciting-hatred-book)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[List of BWNS articles](http://www.bahai.org/persecution/iran)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Latest Iran-related articles from the Baha'i World News Service"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":911,"relatedStoryCaption":"Members of Canadian Parliament voice grave concern about violations."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":910,"relatedStoryCaption":"Imprisonment of Baha'is reflects oppression facing all Iranians who desire progress."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":907,"relatedStoryCaption":"Pacific island Senate unanimously resolves to urge the US to keep up pressure on Iran."}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[{"tagName":"defence"}],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":911,"evergreenUrl":"on-anniversary-arrests-canadian-mps-highlight-irans-human-rights-violations","title":"On anniversary of arrests, Canadian MPs highlight Iran’s human rights violations","description":"In a wide-ranging debate that took place on the fourth anniversary of the arrest of imprisoned Iranian Baha'i leaders, members of the Canadian...","date":"2012-05-16","customDateline":false,"city":"OTTAWA","country":"CANADA","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581881-91100.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581881-91100.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Canada's House of Commons debate on Iran’s human rights violations coincided with the fourth anniversary of the arrest of six of the seven imprisoned Baha’i leaders. Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird issued a statement marking the anniversary. Pictured (left to right): Deepak Obhrai, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs; John Baird, Minister of Foreign Affairs; Scott Reid; and Irwin Cotler.","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"In a wide-ranging debate that took place on the fourth anniversary of the arrest of imprisoned Iranian Baha'i leaders, members of the Canadian Parliament voiced their grave concern about worsening violations of human rights in Iran.\n\nEarlier on Monday 14 May, Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs – John Baird – marked the anniversary by issuing a [statement](http://www.international.gc.ca/media/aff/news-communiques/2012/05/14a.aspx?view=d) which said, \"Iranian authorities continually undermine the right to freedom of religion by tolerating and even encouraging persecution of Baha'is, Christians and members of other minority religious communities. Freedom of religion is a universal human right.\"\n\n\"We urge Iran to uphold its international obligations and allow for freedom of religion, and to respect the fundamental rights of its people,\" said Minister Baird.\n\nOpening the debate in the House of Commons, Deepak Obhrai – Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs – said that Iran's refusal to respect human rights obligations is a \"violation not just of universally recognized norms and standards but of those enshrined within its own constitution.\"\n\n[Read a full transcript of the debate here.](http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=41&Ses=1&DocId=5583473#SOB-7581615)\n\nMr. Obhrai and other speakers highlighted, among other things, the Iranian authorities' suppression of women's rights, attacks on journalists, artists, independent trade unionists, and civil society, and the persecution of minorities.\n\n\"With respect to religious minorities, Iran remains a dangerous place for members of numerous communities, including the Baha'i,\" said Mr. Obhrai, a Conservative MP from Alberta.\n\n\"For years, this peaceful community has been targeted by the Iranian authorities and subjected to discrimination and detention. Baha'i leaders have been arrested and imprisoned for practicing their faith.\n\n\"Iranian officials have also made statements to try to link the Baha'i to the political unrest in that country. These are trumped-up accusations and a cause of concern for the safety and well-being of those unjustly detained in Iran.\"\n\nIrwin Cotler, a Liberal MP from Montreal, told the debate that the plight of Iran's Baha'is offers a looking glass into the situation of human rights in Iran in general, and the \"criminalization of innocence.\"\n\n\"Simply put, the persecution and prosecution of these Baha'i is a case study of the systematic if not systemic character of Iranian injustice as a whole,\" said Mr. Cotler, \"including arbitrary arrest and incommunicado detention, false and trumped-up charges.\"\n\nScott Reid, a Conservative from Ontario, added \"Baha'is face what really amounts to a systematic effort to exterminate the religion,\" calling Iran's persecution of Baha'is \"one of the great tragedies of modern times.\"\n\nWelcoming the debate, Susanne Tamas – director of government relations for the Canadian Baha'i community – said it was significant that representatives from all of Canada's major parties spoke and were unanimous in expressing their concerns.\n\n\"The debate was very heartfelt and very much appreciated,\" said Ms. Tamas."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"The Baha'is of Iran"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"The Trial of the Seven Baha'i Leaders\" - Special Report](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/yaran-special-report/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"Closed Doors: Iran's Campaign to Deny Higher Education to Baha'is\" - Special Section](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/education-special-report/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[BWNS Iran Update](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/iran-update.html)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"Inciting Hatred: Iran's Media Campaign to Demonize Baha'is\" - Special Report](http://bic.org/resources/documents/inciting-hatred-book)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[List of BWNS articles](http://www.bahai.org/persecution/iran)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Recent Iran-related articles"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":910,"relatedStoryCaption":"Imprisonment of Baha'is reflects oppression facing all Iranians who desire progress."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":907,"relatedStoryCaption":"Pacific island Senate unanimously resolves to urge the US to keep up pressure on Iran."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":904,"relatedStoryCaption":"Day of action in 12 major cities marks 10,000 days in prison."}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[{"tagName":"defence"}],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":910,"evergreenUrl":"persecution-intensifies-former-bahai-leaders-mark-anniversary-behind-bars","title":"Persecution intensifies as former Baha'i leaders mark anniversary behind bars","description":"Iran's former Baha'i leaders begin their fifth year in prison today amid an intensification of the persecution of their co-religionists. The...","date":"2012-05-14","customDateline":false,"city":"GENEVA","country":"SWITZERLAND","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581856-91000.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581856-91000.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The seven Baha'i prisoners, photographed several months before their arrest, are, in front, Behrouz Tavakkoli and Saeid Rezaie, and, standing, Fariba Kamalabadi, Vahid Tizfahm, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, and Mahvash Sabet. Ms. Sabet was detained on 5 March 2008. Her six colleagues were arrested in raids on their homes on 14 May 2008.","imageStyle":"large-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Iran's former Baha'i leaders begin their fifth year in prison today amid an intensification of the persecution of their co-religionists.\n\nThe seven prisoners each face the bleak prospect of 16 more years in jail for crimes they did not commit. Next week also marks the first anniversary of raids on homes of Baha'is associated with an informal initiative offering higher education to community members barred from university.  Nine educators later received harsh prison sentences.\n\nThe detention and conviction of these and other Baha'is is a reflection of the oppression facing all Iranians who desire freedom and the progress of their country, said the Universal House of Justice in a [letter dated 11 May 2012 sent to the Baha'is of Iran.](http://dl.bahai.org/bwns/assets/documentlibrary/910_Iranmessage.pdf)\n\nIn its message, the Universal House of Justice noted how the intensifying cruelty towards the Iranian Baha'i community is now also engulfing children. Among recent attacks, the letter highlighted the confinement in prison for a few days of a two-year old boy with his mother, the beating and burning of the hand of a school pupil by her teacher after the girl did not take part in congregational prayers, and the violent abduction by officials of a mother before the eyes of her two young children.\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"\"From schoolchildren to the elderly, from the seven former leaders to ordinary villagers, no Baha'i in Iran is spared the cruel and calculated persecution which the Iranian government and its agents are constantly devising,\" said Diane Ala'i, the Baha'i International Community's representative to the United Nations in Geneva.\n\nThe seven former leaders have been given the longest sentences – 20 years each – of any of the prisoners of conscience currently held in Iranian jails, Ms. Ala'i added. \"Conditions are harsh with poor food and bad sanitation and most of them have experienced significant health problems. Yet during these four years, not one of them has been granted any type of furlough – something to which a prisoner is entitled under Iranian law.\"\n\n**Global support**\n\nThe Universal House of Justice observed in its letter that, over the past year, governments and organizations have continued to defend the rights of Baha'is and other oppressed Iranians. Among such supporters, statesmen and officials – including some Muslim politicians in both the East and the West – civil agencies, universities and prominent personalities have declared the persecution of Baha'is to be unjust and have called for it to cease.\n\nRecent action has included the unanimous passing of a resolution in the United States Senate – on 29 March – calling for the release of the seven former leaders. Three days later, the plight of the prisoners captured the public's attention in 12 of the world's major cities, when widespread publicity marked the combined total of 10,000 days that the seven had spent behind bars.\n\nFair-minded Iranians, including artists, are also defending the rights of their oppressed Baha'i compatriots and demanding their freedom, noted the Universal House of Justice.\n\n\"Blind prejudice and superstition pervades Iran today and irreparable damage has been done to the name and reputation of Islam,\" said Diane Ala'i. \"We welcome and join with every effort made by people of good will – both in Iran and around the world – to condemn the extent and violence of the oppressions faced by the people of Iran.\"\n\nThe former Baha'i leaders are Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Mahvash Sabet, Behrouz Tavakkoli and Vahid Tizfahm.  Ms. Sabet was detained on 5 March 2008. Her six colleagues were arrested in raids on their homes on 14 May 2008.\n\nPrior to their arrests, the seven served on an ad hoc national-level group which attended to the spiritual and social needs of Iran's Baha'i community. During six brief court sessions, devoid of due legal process, the seven faced trumped-up charges that were all rejected completely and categorically by the defendants.\n\nThey were each sentenced to 20-years imprisonment. The five men are currently being held at Gohardasht prison, some 50 kilometers west of Tehran. The two women are in Evin prison in the capital.\n\nSome 39 homes of Baha'is associated with the Baha'i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE) were raided in a coordinated attack in May 2011. Educator Kamran Mortezaie is now serving a five-year jail term. Mahmoud Badavam, Noushin Khadem, Farhad Sedghi, Riaz Sobhani and Ramin Zibaie are each serving four year prison sentences. The judgments against them cast their activities in support of BIHE as crimes and as \"evidence\" of their purported aim to subvert the State. Two psychology teachers – Faran Hesami and her husband Kamran Rahimian – were also sentenced to four years in prison. Another BIHE administrator Vahid Mahmoudi was released on 8 January 2012 after his five-year sentence was reportedly suspended.\n\nSince August 2004, some 556 Baha'is have been arrested in Iran. There are about 109 Iranian Baha'is currently in prison because of their religion. To date, the cases of some 451 Baha'is are still active with authorities."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581862-91001.jpg"},"imageDescription":"On 18 September 2011, tens of thousands of people marched through the streets of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil – an example of the activities taken by ordinary people around the world in defense of the Baha'is of Iran and the principle of religious freedom."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"The Baha'is of Iran"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"The Trial of the Seven Baha'i Leaders\" - Special Report](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/yaran-special-report/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"Closed Doors: Iran's Campaign to Deny Higher Education to Baha'is\" - Special Section](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/education-special-report/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[BWNS Iran Update](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/iran-update.html)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"Inciting Hatred: Iran's Media Campaign to Demonize Baha'is\" - Special Report](http://bic.org/resources/documents/inciting-hatred-book)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[List of BWNS articles](http://www.bahai.org/persecution/iran)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Recent Iran-related articles"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":907,"relatedStoryCaption":"Pacific island Senate unanimously resolves to urge the US to keep up pressure on Iran."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":904,"relatedStoryCaption":"Day of action in 12 major cities marks 10,000 days in prison."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":903,"relatedStoryCaption":"Resolution condemns state-sponsored campaign of persecution of Baha'is."}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[{"tagName":"defence"}],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":909,"evergreenUrl":"fifty-years-european-bahai-communities-recall-landmark-elections","title":"Fifty years on, European Baha'i communities recall landmark elections","description":"Tributes have been paid to the Baha'i Faith on the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Norwegian National Spiritual Assembly. In Oslo,...","date":"2012-05-07","customDateline":null,"city":"OSLO","country":"NORWAY","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581837-90900.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581837-90900.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Delegates and current National Spiritual Assembly members at the national convention of the Baha'is of Norway, held 28-29 April 2012.","imageStyle":"large-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Tributes have been paid to the Baha'i Faith on the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Norwegian National Spiritual Assembly.\n\nIn Oslo, some 100 special guests participated in a celebratory gathering. Among them, Shazia Mushtaq – a representative of Norway's Islamic Council – praised the \"many beautiful elements\" in the commemorative event, which included spoken tributes and musical performances.\n\nIvar Flaten, a Church of Norway priest, remarked that he found in the Baha'i teachings, \"a special emphasis, not only on tolerance but also on acknowledging each other.\" His comments were echoed by Lise Tørnby, Chief Executive of Norway's Council for Religious and Life Stance Communities, who said that one thing that characterizes Baha'is is their \"willingness for dialog.\"\n\nIn his keynote address, Thor Henning Lerstad – a journalist and Baha'i – described the call to all human beings to acknowledge the unity of religion as \"perhaps the most notable challenge the Baha'i Faith poses, from a Nordic perspective...\"\n\n\"Tolerance is not enough; it is also necessary to recognize other peoples' beliefs,\" he said.\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Today Baha'i activities in Norway include the hosting of gatherings that strengthen the devotional character of the community; classes for children; groups that channel the energies of young people; and study circles where participants explore the application of spiritual teachings to their lives and develop skills to serve the community.\n\n\"We live in a time where less attention is given to the nurturing of human beings' spiritual nature,\" noted Shahla Bahrami, another Norwegian Baha'i. The activities offered by the Baha'i community help to refine this nature, she told the gathering held on Friday 27 April.\n\nThis year also marks the 50th anniversaries of the formation of National Spiritual Assemblies in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. In a number of them, a period of commemoration was allocated at the national Baha'i conventions which happen each year during the period of the Ridvan festival, 21 April to 2 May.\n\nTo the Baha'is of **Switzerland**, the Regent for Liechtenstein – His Serene Highness Hereditary Prince Alois – wrote, \"Upon learning that the National Spiritual Assembly of Switzerland, which is currently responsible for the Baha'i community of Liechtenstein, will celebrate its 50 years in existence, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the community on this anniversary and express my best wishes and God's blessings for the future.\"\n\nThe Swiss National Assembly in turn sent anniversary greetings to the neighboring Baha'i community of **Italy**. The Italian national convention heard Mario Piarulli, a surviving member of its first National Spiritual Assembly, recounting his memories of the community's early history.\n\nMr. Piarulli's expressed his sincere wish that \"the young people present today may – in 50 years, on the occasion of the centenary commemoration – look at these, our years, as crucial in accelerating the maturation of a world spiritual civilization...\"\n\nIn the **Netherlands**, former and current National Spiritual Assembly members marked their 50th anniversary with the reading of the names of each of the 51 Baha'is who have served on the institution during those years.\n\nThe anniversary of the National Spiritual Assembly of **Portugal** was celebrated at the national convention held for the first time in a new national Baha'i center. \"The physical space that hosted the Convention was thus a material symbol of the growth and progress of the Faith over the previous half century,\" reported Portugal's National Spiritual Assembly.\n\nBaha'is in **Luxembourg** observed the golden jubilee of their National Spiritual Assembly with a tribute to the first Baha'i to settle in the country, British-born Honor Kempton. \"The convention was invigorated by the sacrifices made by the Baha'is of previous decades,\" said Assembly member Amir Saberin, \"and focused on how the foundation built in the last half-century may become the platform for even greater accomplishments in the next.\""}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581832-909010.jpg"},"imageDescription":"At the national convention of the Baha'is of Italy, Mario Piarulli – a surviving member of the country's first National Spiritual Assembly, elected in 1962 – recounts his memories of the community's early history."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Historic interest stories on the Baha'i World News Service"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":905,"relatedStoryCaption":"Messages from clergymen 100 years after 'Abdu'l-Baha docked in Naples."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":889,"relatedStoryCaption":"UK Baha'is join interfaith gathering for Queen's anniversary."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":769,"relatedStoryCaption":"21 nations electing national Baha'i assemblies for the 50th time."}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":908,"evergreenUrl":"panel-examines-role-young-people-social-change","title":"Panel examines the role of young people in social change","description":"Preparing the world's young people for the future will require new directions in education that emphasize their role as global citizens. That...","date":"2012-04-27","customDateline":false,"city":"NEW YORK","country":"UNITED STATES","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581803-90800.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581803-90800.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Panelists discussed \"Youth and Adolescents: Educating the Protagonists of Social Change\" at a side event held during the UN Commission on Population and Development, 25 April 2012. Pictured left to right are: Bani Dugal, principal representative of the Baha'i International Community to the UN; Alicia Cundall, a student at the University of Toronto; and Ambassador William A. Awinador-Kanyirige, the Deputy Permanent Representative of the Permanent Mission of Ghana to the UN.","imageStyle":"large-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Preparing the world's young people for the future will require new directions in education that emphasize their role as global citizens.\n\nThat was among the ideas presented here at a panel discussion, sponsored by the Baha'i International Community, as a side event to the United Nations Commission on Population and Development, 23-27 April.\n\nTitled \"Youth and Adolescents: Educating the Protagonists of Social Change,\" the panel sought to address the main theme of this year's Commission.\n\nYoung people should be taught \"the concept of fundamental human rights, and the concepts of tolerance, peace and diversity,\" said Ambassador William A. Awinador-Kanyirige, the Deputy Permanent Representative of the Permanent Mission of Ghana to the UN.\n\n\"If we don't do this, along with the basic sciences and communication skills, then we are not helping the youth to realize themselves fully,\" he said.\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Opening the discussion, Bani Dugal – the principal representative of the Baha'i International Community to the UN – said, \"We want to explore educational processes that help young people to recognize and develop their potentials...and to see themselves as protagonists of change in their own lives, in the life of their communities, and in the world.\"\n\n\"Many of the approaches to education today treat students in a very passive way, as receptacles of information rather than active members of their community,\" said Ms. Dugal.\n\nPanelist Alicia Cundall, a student at the University of Toronto, said young people are anxious to become strategic partners in helping to plan the world they will inherit.\n\n\"I have learned that adolescents and youth are idealistic in the best way,\" said Ms. Cundall. \"We won't take no for an answer, we stand up for what we believe, we challenge the status quo, our mindsets and attitudes are flexible and malleable and we are able to change our ways to adapt to changing times more easily than adults. We have a whole lot of energy and enthusiasm.\"\n\nPrograms for young people, she said, should stress the importance of service to the community and experiential learning.\n\nAs part of its contribution to this year's Commission, the Baha'i International Community issued a statement addressing the theme. The document noted that there are no fewer than one billion people worldwide between the ages of 10 and 19 – and yet half live in poverty and some 25 percent survive on less than a dollar a day.\n\n\"The future of today's society will depend to a great extent on the manner in which educational programs and methods are designed to release the latent potential of youth and prepare them for the world they will inherit,\" said the statement.\n\nThe full statement can be read [here](http://bic.org/statements-and-reports/statements/youth-and-adolescents-education-in-service-of-community)."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581801-90801.jpg"},"imageDescription":"A view of the UN Commission on Population and Development, as it met for its 45th session on the theme, “Adolescents and Youth,” 23-27 April 2012. UN Photo/Paulo Filgueiras"}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Related articles from the Baha'i World News Service"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[Youth and Adolescents: Education in Service of Community](http://bic.org/statements-and-reports/statements/youth-and-adolescents-education-in-service-of-community)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Baha'i International Community statement to the 2012 Commission on Population and Development, 45th session"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":896,"relatedStoryCaption":"Commission highlights empowerment of rural women."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":886,"relatedStoryCaption":"Relationships of dominance contribute to inequitable access to resources and knowledge."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":752,"relatedStoryCaption":"In five countries, more than 1,500 young people discuss their challenges."}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":907,"evergreenUrl":"guam-joins-global-condemnation-irans-human-rights-abuses","title":"Guam joins global condemnation of Iran's human rights abuses","description":"The Senate of the western Pacific island territory of Guam has called upon the United States of America to keep up its pressure on Iran over...","date":"2012-04-27","customDateline":false,"city":"HAGÅTÑA","country":"GUAM","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581779-907000.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581779-907000.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Speaker Judith Won Pat – pictured center – addresses the Guam legislature during a vote about the denial of access to higher education in Iran. The vote, which passed by a majority of 14-0, was held on 27 April 2012.","imageStyle":"large-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"The Senate of the western Pacific island territory of Guam has called upon the United States of America to keep up its pressure on Iran over human rights abuses.\n\nA resolution was unanimously passed this morning by the island's 15-member legislature. Fourteen senators voted in favor of the resolution, with none against. One senator was absent and did not vote.\n\nGuam – the largest and southernmost of the Mariana Islands – is a U.S. territory with its own elected governor and legislature. The resolution, which was co-sponsored by the Senate's speaker Judith Won Pat and two other senators, urges the U.S. Congress and President – on behalf of the people of Guam – to \"continue their efforts in calling upon the Islamic Republic of Iran to ensure that the nation's youth will not be denied access to higher education because of their faith.\"\n\nThe resolution specifically cites Iran's official government policy to \"ensure that 'progress and development' of the Baha'is 'are blocked' with explicit directives that Baha'is 'must be expelled from universities...'\"\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"\"Although we are small on Guam and far away and removed from the situation in Iran, we want to show the world that we have compassion for the Baha'is' suffering and persecution,\" said Benjamin J.F. Cruz, vice-speaker of the Senate and a co-sponsor of the resolution.\n\nLegislative Secretary Tina Rose Muña Barnes added, \"When I put my name on the resolution to co-sponsor it, I did so with conviction because I believe that education and knowledge is a key to success. And knowing youth are being denied that opportunity I asked myself, how can I not stand up and add my voice? We should not be afraid to stand up and say, 'I want to help.'\"\n\nThe Senators' made their remarks at a public hearing on 16 April, ahead of today's vote.\n\nThe first recorded mention of the Baha'i Faith in Guam was 1936. Today there are some 200 Baha'is on the island. \"It is our hope that this resolution will hasten the end of denial of education to the Baha'i youth of Iran and will allow them to be free to serve their country and the world,\" said a spokesperson for the Guamanian Baha'i community."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581775-907010.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Situated in the western Pacific, Guam is the largest and southernmost of the Mariana Islands. A United States territory, it has its own elected governor and legislature."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"The Baha'is of Iran"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"The Trial of the Seven Baha'i Leaders\" - Special Report](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/yaran-special-report/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[BWNS Iran Update](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/iran-update.html)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"Closed Doors: Iran's Campaign to Deny Higher Education to Baha'is\" - Special Section](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/education-special-report/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"Inciting Hatred: Iran's Media Campaign to Demonize Baha'is\" - Special Report](http://bic.org/resources/documents/inciting-hatred-book)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[List of BWNS articles](http://www.bahai.org/persecution/iran)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Recent Iran-related articles"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":904,"relatedStoryCaption":"Day of action in 12 major cities marks 10,000 days in prison."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":903,"relatedStoryCaption":"Resolution condemns state-sponsored campaign of persecution of Baha'is."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":901,"relatedStoryCaption":"Overwhelming majority vote for a continuing investigation into human rights violations in Iran."}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[{"tagName":"defence"}],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":906,"evergreenUrl":"plans-build-new-houses-worship-announced","title":"Plans to build new Houses of Worship announced","description":"With the construction under way in Chile of the last of the continental Baha'i Houses of Worship, plans have been announced for the building...","date":"2012-04-22","customDateline":false,"city":"HAIFA","country":"ISRAEL","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581721-90600.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581721-90600.jpg"},"imageDescription":"A Baha'i gathering in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Universal House of Justice has announced the building of a new national Baha'i House of Worship in that country.","imageStyle":"large-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"With the construction under way in Chile of the last of the continental Baha'i Houses of Worship, plans have been announced for the building of the first two national Baha'i Temples – in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Papua New Guinea.\n\nThe historic announcement was made yesterday by the Universal House of Justice in its annual message to mark the first day of Ridvan, the holiest festival in the Baha'i year.\n\nBaha'i Houses of Worship are distinctive buildings, open to all, where visitors can simply pray and meditate in a serene atmosphere, or listen to the holy scriptures of the world's religions being recited and sung. Each House of Worship provides a spiritual center around which agencies of social, humanitarian, and educational service are established for the surrounding population.\n\nThis institution weds \"two essential, inseparable aspects of Baha'i life: worship and service,\" wrote the Universal House of Justice.\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"In addition to the two new national Temples, consultations are to commence in five regions of the world on the creation of local Houses of Worship. The locations are: Battambang, Cambodia; Bihar Sharif, India; Matunda Soy, Kenya; Norte del Cauca, Colombia; and Tanna, Vanuatu.\n\nThese are among the places where Baha'i communities are cultivating a \"devotional spirit that finds expression in gatherings for prayer and an educational process that builds capacity for service to humanity,\" wrote the Universal House of Justice.\n\nReferring to the Houses of Worship, the letter concluded: \"From these Dawning-Points of the Remembrance of God will shine the rays of His light and peal out the anthems of His praise.\""}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581721-90601.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Baha'is from the Oro Province of Papua New Guinea at a conference held in the city of Lae in January 2009. \"Oro oro oro\" means \"Welcome welcome welcome.\" The Universal House of Justice has announced that a new national Baha'i House of Worship is to be built in Papua New Guinea."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581720-90602.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Citizens of Bihar Sharif in Bihar state, northeastern India, gather for prayers. Discussions are soon to commence about the construction of a local Baha'i House of Worship in the area."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581716-90603.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Young people participate in a class in Norte del Cauca, in the southwest region of Colombia, south of the city of Cali. A new local Baha'i House of Worship is to be built to serve the population of the area."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581713-90604.jpg"},"imageDescription":"A Baha'i-inspired agency, CORDE, develops capacity for service to society in Battambang, Cambodia, where a new local Baha'i House of Worship will be built."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581723-90605.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The first Baha'i House of Worship was completed in 1908 in Ashkhabad, Turkmenistan, home to a large, early Baha'i community. The House of Worship itself was surrounded by gardens, at the corners of which were facilities for social welfare including a school, a hostel, and a small hospital. The House of Worship was confiscated by the Soviet authorities and later demolished after suffering serious damage in an earthquake."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581720-90606.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The oldest surviving Baha'i House of Worship stands on the shores of Lake Michigan at Wilmette, Illinois, U.S.A. The cornerstone of the temple was laid by 'Abdu'l-Baha 100 years ago on 1 May 1912. Construction work began in 1921, and it was finally completed in 1953."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581722-90607.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The Baha'i House of Worship in Tiapapata, near Apia, Samoa. Officially opened in September 1984, the House of Worship has become a well-known landmark."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581720-90608.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Dedicated in 1986, the Baha'i House of Worship in New Delhi, India is one of the most visited buildings in the world, receiving an average of 4.3 million visitors per year. Inspired by the lotus flower, its design is composed of 27 free-standing marble clad \"petals.\""}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Baha'i Houses of Worship around the world"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":898,"relatedStoryCaption":"Interest grows in Temple under construction in Chile."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":851,"relatedStoryCaption":"Dignitaries pay tribute to House of Worship's contribution to life of community."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":856,"relatedStoryCaption":"House of Worship in Delhi depicted in 14 countries."}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[{"tagName":"houses_of_worship"}],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":905,"evergreenUrl":"christian-dignitaries-greet-bahai-community-historic-anniversary","title":"Christian dignitaries greet Baha'i community on historic anniversary","description":"Prominent Christian clergymen paid tribute to the Baha'i community here, 100 years after the ship carrying 'Abdu'l-Baha to the United States...","date":"2012-04-15","customDateline":false,"city":"NAPLES","country":"ITALY","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581679-90500.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581679-90500.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The names of 'Abdu'l-Baha and some of his entourage as they appeared on the list of passengers bound for the United States from Naples on the S.S. Cedric, 30 March 1912.","imageStyle":"large-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Prominent Christian clergymen paid tribute to the Baha'i community here, 100 years after the ship carrying 'Abdu'l-Baha to the United States of America docked in Naples.\n\nTheir remarks were conveyed at a special commemoration attended by more than 250 guests, held at the city's maritime station to mark the centenary of 'Abdu'l-Baha's presence in the port, on board the steamship *Cedric*.\n\nIn a letter read to the gathering, the Archbishop of Naples – Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe – expressed his hope that the celebrations \"be occasions of spiritual enrichment and a renewed impetus for the building of a more just and unified society.\"\n\nIn another message of greeting, Monsignor Salvatore Giovanni Rinaldi – the Bishop of the Diocese of Acerra – said, \"My personal wish and that of the Acerra Christian community is that the message of the founder of the Baha'i Faith, Baha'u'llah, Messenger of God, who promoted a process of the unification of humanity, may progress and fully establish itself in order to bring about one human family gathered under one God.\"\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Professor Roberto Tottoli of the Naples University of Oriental Studies told the Baha'is of his \"interest in your future initiatives, for my own personal interest but also for the interests of the Department that I represent, which cannot help but regard with admiration the activities of your religious community.\"\n\nSpecial guests who were present and offered remarks included representatives from the Buddhist network Soka Gakkai International and the Waldensian Evangelical Church. All of them \"expressed their joy in sharing with the Baha'i community such a solemn and meaningful moment,\" said Julio Savi, the Secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Italy.\n\n'Abdu'l-Baha (1844-1921) was the eldest son of Baha'u'llah and His appointed successor as head of the Baha'i Faith. Following the Young Turk Revolution of 1908, when all political and religious prisoners of the Ottoman Empire – including 'Abdu'l-Baha and His family – were freed, He began to plan presenting, in person, the Baha'i teachings to the world beyond the Middle East. From August to December 1911, He made visits to France, Switzerland and England before returning to Egypt for the winter.\n\nThen, on 25 March 1912, 'Abdu'l-Baha boarded the *Cedric* – which regularly travelled between Alexandria and New York City, stopping in Naples. It had been suggested that 'Abdu'l-Baha might prefer to travel on the maiden voyage of the ill-fated S.S. *Titanic* but, He reportedly said, he preferred a longer sea journey. He arrived safely in New York City on 11 April.\n\nAt the centenary gathering, held in Naples 31 March to 1 April, Hartmut Grossmann, a former member of the Universal House of Justice, invited participants to reflect on a letter of the Universal House of Justice of 29 August 2010 which described how the \"words uttered by 'Abdu'l-Baha during His travels, and the deeds He undertook with such consummate wisdom and love, offer an abundance of inspiration and manifold insights...\"\n\nAttendees also enjoyed musical presentations, the performance of a traditional Neapolitan *tammurriata* dance, and a visual history of Italy's Baha'i community which linked the activities of modern day Italian Baha'is with the pioneering efforts of their forebears."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581680-905011.jpg"},"imageDescription":"'Abdu'l-Baha (1844-1921), photographed in Paris during His historic travels 1910-1913."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581681-90502.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The maritime station of the port of Naples, Italy, where the centenary of 'Abdu'l-Baha's visit was commemorated, 31 March to 1 April 2012."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581678-90503.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Hartmut Grossmann – pictured right – a former member of the Universal House of Justice, addresses the gathering marking the centenary of 'Abdu'l-Baha's visit to Naples, 31 March to 1 April 2012. Pictured left is Mr. Grossmann's translator, Fatollah Sabet."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581679-90504.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Signora Maria Langione, one of the first Baha'is of Naples, photographed at the gathering to mark the centenary of 'Abdu'l-Baha's presence in the city, held 31 March to 1 April 2012."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581681-90505.jpg"},"imageDescription":"A logo designed to mark the centenary of 'Abdu'l-Baha's presence in Naples, held in the city 31 March to 1 April 2012. It reads, \"The Master in Naples – A Century After.\""}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Centenary of the travels of 'Abdu'l-Baha"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":854,"relatedStoryCaption":"Baha'is in Europe reflect on the qualities of 'Abdu'l-Baha's unique character."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":818,"relatedStoryCaption":"For the first time, story of 'Abdu'l-Baha told for a modern Arabic-speaking readership."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":792,"relatedStoryCaption":"'Abdu'l-Baha's travels took Him from the Holy Land to the Nile delta, from the Pacific coast of North America to the banks of the River Danube."}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":904,"evergreenUrl":"world-calls-unconditional-release-bahai-leaders-other-iranian-prisoners-conscience","title":"World calls for unconditional release of Baha'i leaders and other Iranian prisoners of conscience","description":"The plight of Iran's seven imprisoned Baha'i leaders has been capturing the public's attention in 12 of the world's major cities, where a day...","date":"2012-04-03","customDateline":false,"city":"NEW YORK","country":"UNITED STATES","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581615-90400.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581615-90400.jpg"},"imageDescription":"In New Delhi, campaigners from United4Iran, the Trans Asia Alliance and the Asian Center for Human Rights joined Baha'is in a peaceful march on Sunday 1 April across the city, calling for the release of Iran's jailed seven Baha'i leaders. Following the march, the group gathered at the city's famous Red Fort.","imageStyle":"large-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"The plight of Iran's seven imprisoned Baha'i leaders has been capturing the public's attention in 12 of the world's major cities, where a day of action marked the combined total of 10,000 days that the seven have so far spent in prison.\n\nIn an initiative coordinated by human rights organization [United4Iran](http://united4iran.org), the image of the seven was widely displayed on Sunday 1 April – on mobile billboards, buses, bicycles, a canal boat, and T-shirts.\n\nThe billboard image of the Baha'i leaders was a mosaic of smaller photographs of hundreds of people currently jailed in Iran including journalists, trade unionists, politicians, student and women's activists, and religious leaders.\n\n\"The plight of these seven is representative of the countless Iranian men and women who have been jailed for defending their freedom and human rights,\" said Firuzeh Mahmoudi, United4Iran's director and founder.\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"\"Our message to the seven is this: The world has not forgotten you, and we will continue to fight for your freedom and that of other Iranian prisoners of conscience.\"\n\nIn New Delhi, India, around 200 campaigners carrying banners marched across the city in an action that was co-supported by the Trans Asia Alliance and the Asian Center for Human Rights. The Center's director Suhas Chakma said, \"Iran has failed to respect international human rights standards on fair trial and therefore must release the seven unconditionally.\"\n\nIn South Africa, buses displaying the image of the seven prisoners are following routes in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Pretoria.\n\nA large truck bearing the same image toured Brazil's federal capital, Brasilia. Brazilian supporters wore T-shirts that spelled out \"Libertem Baha'is Irã\" (\"Free Baha'is Iran\").\n\nIn Berlin, Germany, the picture of the seven was displayed around the city on special bicycles. The initiative was launched by German Member of Parliament Serkan Tören, who is a Muslim of Turkish origin. \"I urge the Iranian Government to grant the Baha'i Faith community the right of religious freedom to which Iran has an obligation under international law. I urge the international community to maintain pressure on Iran in order to fulfill its international obligation,\" said Mr. Tören.\n\nIn the Netherlands, the poster of the prisoners travelled by barge on Amsterdam's canals while mobile billboards also generated interest as they toured Sydney (Australia), Paris (France), Wellington (New Zealand), London (U.K.) and Washington D.C. (U.S.A).\n\nThe seven Baha'i prisoners are Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Mahvash Sabet, Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Vahid Tizfahm. Prior to their arrests in 2008, they were members of an ad-hoc national-level group which attended to the spiritual and social needs of Iran's Baha'i community. They are each serving 20-year jail terms handed down after six brief court sessions characterized by a lack of due legal process. The seven categorically denied such charges as espionage, propaganda against the Islamic republic and the establishment of an illegal administration.\n\n\"The seven were, and remain, totally innocent of any wrongdoing,\" said Bani Dugal, the Baha'i International Community's principal representative to the United Nations.\n\n\"Ten thousand days of their lives have literally been stolen from them forever – days which they would have dedicated to the service of their fellow countrymen,\" she said. \"The day is long overdue when these prisoners are freed to be able to make their contribution to the country they love.\""}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581614-90401.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The mobile billboard image of the Baha'i leaders seen around the world was a mosaic of smaller photographs of hundreds of people currently jailed in Iran including journalists, trade unionists, politicians, student and women's activists, and religious leaders."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581628-90402.jpg"},"imageDescription":"A large truck bearing the image of the seven prisoners toured Brazil's federal capital, Brasilia. Campaign supporters wore T-shirts that spelled out \"Libertem Baha'is Irã\" (\"Free Baha'is Iran\")."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581616-90403.jpg"},"imageDescription":"In South Africa, supporters of Iran's seven imprisoned Baha'i leaders launch a special bus featuring the prisoners' image. Buses carrying the poster are travelling routes in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Pretoria."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581615-90404.jpg"},"imageDescription":"In the Netherlands, a billboard depicting Iran's seven Baha'i leaders passes under Amsterdam's Magere Brug watched by supporters in printed orange vests."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581618-90405.jpg"},"imageDescription":"At Berlin's historic Reichstag building, German Member of Parliament Serkan Tören rides a special bicycle depicting Iran's seven imprisoned Baha'i leaders. In February, Mr Tören accepted an invitation from the German International Society for Human Rights to be \"political godfather\" to one of the prisoners, Fariba Kamalabadi. \"The imprisonment of Mrs Kamalabadi is utterly inhumane,\" said Mr. Tören."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581608-90406.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Sydney's famous opera house in Australia provides the backdrop for a mobile billboard depicting Iran's seven imprisoned Baha'i leaders, on Sunday 1 April."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581620-90407.jpg"},"imageDescription":"In central London, a mobile billboard calling for freedom for Iran's seven Baha'i leaders approaches the historic Westminster Abbey."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581615-90408.jpg"},"imageDescription":"In Paris, France, a mobile billboard depicting Iran's seven imprisoned Baha'i leaders travels past the famous Eiffel Tower, on Sunday 1 April."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581620-90409.jpg"},"imageDescription":"In Washington D.C, a mobile billboard calling for the release of Iran's seven Baha'i leaders attracts interest in front of the city's Lincoln Memorial, on Sunday 1 April."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581616-90410.jpg"},"imageDescription":"United4Iran supporters with their mobile billboard depicting Iran's seven imprisoned Baha'i leaders in front of New Zealand's Parliament House in Wellington, on Sunday 1 April."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"The Baha'is of Iran"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"The Trial of the Seven Baha'i Leaders\" - Special Report](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/yaran-special-report/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[BWNS Iran Update](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/iran-update.html)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"Closed Doors: Iran's Campaign to Deny Higher Education to Baha'is\" - Special Section](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/education-special-report/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"Inciting Hatred: Iran's Media Campaign to Demonize Baha'is\" - Special Report](http://bic.org/resources/documents/inciting-hatred-book)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[List of BWNS articles](http://www.bahai.org/persecution/iran)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Latest Iran-related stories from the Baha'i World News Service"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":903,"relatedStoryCaption":"Resolution condemns state-sponsored campaign of persecution of Baha'is."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":901,"relatedStoryCaption":"Overwhelming majority vote for a continuing investigation into human rights violations in Iran."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":900,"relatedStoryCaption":"New report says Iran remains one of the worst abusers of the right to religious freedom in the world."}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":903,"evergreenUrl":"us-senate-calls-release-religious-prisoners-iran","title":"U.S. Senate calls for release of religious prisoners in Iran","description":"The United States Senate has passed a resolution condemning the government of Iran for its systematic campaign of persecution of Baha'is and...","date":"2012-04-01","customDateline":false,"city":"WASHINGTON","country":"UNITED STATES","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581590-90300.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581590-90300.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The U.S. Senate resolution condemns the government of Iran for its state-sponsored persecution of Baha'is. The resolution was introduced last year by Illinois Senators Mark Kirk (top) and Richard Durbin.","imageStyle":"large-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"The United States Senate has passed a resolution condemning the government of Iran for its systematic campaign of persecution of Baha'is and calling for the release of all Iranian prisoners held solely for their religious beliefs.\n\n[The resolution](http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d112:SE00080:@@@L&summ2=m&) – approved by unanimous consent on Thursday – also called for sanctions against Iranian officials directly responsible for human rights violations.\n\n\"Despite five international human rights treaties to which it is legally bound, the Iranian government continues to persecute those who seek to exercise their freedom of expression, thought, conscience and religion,\" said Senator Mark Kirk, a Republican from Illinois who introduced the resolution.\n\nSenator Richard Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois who co-sponsored the resolution, added: \"It is past time for the state-sponsored religious persecution of the Baha'is in Iran to come to an end. The passage of this resolution affirms that the American people stand with the Baha'i in their quest for some of our most basic human rights: security and religious freedom.\"\n\nThe resolution took note of recent international measures that have cataloged the growing oppression of Baha'is and other religious minorities in Iran, such as recent reports on human rights in Iran by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.\n\nThe resolution also listed a series of incidents dating back to 2008 where Iranian Baha'is have been arrested and imprisoned \"solely on the basis of their religion.\"\n\nThese incidents included the arrest, trial, and 20-year sentences handed down to seven national Baha'i leaders.\n\nIran was called upon in the resolution to \"immediately release the seven leaders and all other prisoners held solely on account of their religion.\" President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hilary Clinton were also urged to utilize measures available under the 2010 Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act to \"sanction officials of the Government of Iran and other individuals directly responsible for egregious human rights violations in Iran, including against the Baha'i community.\""}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"The Baha'is of Iran"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[BWNS Iran Update](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/iran-update.html)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"The Trial of the Seven Baha'i Leaders\" - Special Report](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/yaran-special-report/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"Closed Doors: Iran's Campaign to Deny Higher Education to Baha'is\" - Special Section](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/education-special-report/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"Inciting Hatred: Iran's Media Campaign to Demonize Baha'is\" - Special Report](http://bic.org/resources/documents/inciting-hatred-book)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[List of BWNS articles](http://www.bahai.org/persecution/iran)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Latest Iran-related articles"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":902,"relatedStoryCaption":"Latest Iran-related articles"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":901,"relatedStoryCaption":"Overwhelming majority vote for a continuing investigation into human rights violations in Iran."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":900,"relatedStoryCaption":"New report says Iran remains one of the worst abusers of the right to religious freedom in the world."}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":902,"evergreenUrl":"irans-seven-bahai-leaders-10000-days-prison","title":"Iran's seven Baha'i leaders: 10,000 days in prison","description":"Sunday 1 April marks 10,000 days that Iran's seven former Baha'i leaders have spent in prison between them – a period throughout which they have...","date":"2012-03-29","customDateline":false,"city":"NEW YORK","country":"UNITED STATES","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581574-89900.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581574-89900.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The seven Baha'i prisoners – photographed several months before their arrest – are (front) Behrouz Tavakkoli and Saeid Rezaie; and (standing) Fariba Kamalabadi, Vahid Tizfahm, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, and Mahvash Sabet.","imageStyle":"large-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Sunday 1 April marks 10,000 days that Iran's seven former Baha'i leaders have spent in prison between them – a period throughout which they have been deprived of the rights accorded to prisoners under Iran's own laws and regulations.\n\nPrior to their arrests in 2008, the seven were members of an ad hoc national-level group which attended to the spiritual and social needs of Iran's Baha'i community. They are Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Mahvash Sabet, Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Vahid Tizfahm. Ms. Sabet was detained on 5 March 2008. Her six colleagues were arrested in early morning raids on their homes on 14 May 2008.\n\nSome 20 months after being held without charge in Tehran's Evin prison, a trial began on 12 January 2010. It consisted of six brief court sessions, all devoid of due legal process. The seven were charged with, among other things, espionage, propaganda against the Islamic republic, the establishment of an illegal administration – charges that were all rejected completely and categorically by the defendants. They were each sentenced to 20-years imprisonment.\n\nThe five men are currently serving out their sentence at Gohardasht prison, some 50 kilometers west of Tehran. The two women are in Evin prison after previously being held in Gohardasht and a brief stay in appalling conditions at Qarchak prison.\n\nOn Sunday – in an [initiative coordinated by human rights group United4Iran](http://united4iran.org/2012/03/press-release-worldwide-action-for-irans-bahai-seven) – large images of the seven will be displayed on mobile billboards and in other settings in some 12 major cities around the world.\n\n\"Those of us with the ability to speak out need to be the voices of those who have been silenced,\" said Firuzeh Mahmoudi, United4Iran's director and founder. \"We hope this action will bring worldwide attention to the plight of the seven Baha'i leaders, and also remind us of all other prisoners of conscience who remain behind bars and who need our unwavering support on their behalf.\""}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"The Baha'is of Iran"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[BWNS Iran Update](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/iran-update.html)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"The Trial of the Seven Baha'i Leaders\" - Special Report](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/yaran-special-report/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"Closed Doors: Iran's Campaign to Deny Higher Education to Baha'is\" - Special Section](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/education-special-report/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"Inciting Hatred: Iran's Media Campaign to Demonize Baha'is\" - Special Report](http://bic.org/resources/documents/inciting-hatred-book)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[List of BWNS articles](http://www.bahai.org/persecution/iran)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Recent Iran-related articles"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":897,"relatedStoryCaption":"Special Rapporteur sharply criticizes Iran's human rights record and system of justice."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":893,"relatedStoryCaption":"Document highlights crackdown on dissent."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":890,"relatedStoryCaption":"Feature-length film examines persecution of Iran's Baha'is."}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[{"tagName":"defence"}],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":901,"evergreenUrl":"un-human-rights-council-extends-mandate-iran-monitor","title":"UN Human Rights Council extends mandate of Iran monitor","description":"The United Nations Human Rights Council has voted by an overwhelming margin for a continuing investigation into human rights violations in Iran....","date":"2012-03-23","customDateline":false,"city":"GENEVA","country":"SWITZERLAND","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581549-900000.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581549-900000.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Ahmed Shaheed, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran. A former foreign minister of the Maldives, Dr. Shaheed was appointed to his post in June 2011 after a period of some nine years during which no one had held that position. UN photo/Rick Bajornas.","imageStyle":"large-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"The United Nations Human Rights Council has voted by an overwhelming margin for a continuing investigation into human rights violations in Iran.\n\nYesterday's vote of 22 to 5 with 20 abstentions came after two major UN reports sharply criticized Iranian authorities.\n\n\"This result is a clear indication of the Council's concern over Iran's abysmal record on human rights,\" said Diane Ala'i, the Baha'i International Community's representative to the United Nations in Geneva.\n\nThe vote extended for a year the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, Ahmed Shaheed. Last week, Dr. Shaheed delivered his [first report](http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/RegularSession/Session19/A-HRC-19-66_en.pdf) to the Council, condemning the failure of Iran's justice system to protect the rights of citizens. He also expressed concern over a rise in executions, the increased detention of journalists and lawyers, and continuing persecution of ethnic and religious minorities, including Baha'is.\n\nIn [another report](http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/RegularSession/Session19/A.HRC.19.82_AUV.pdf) released yesterday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon documented a long list of new or recent violations, including allegations of the use of torture, summary executions, and the persecution of religious minorities.\n\n\"The Secretary-General is deeply troubled by reports of increased numbers of executions including in public, executions of juvenile offenders, amputations, flogging, arbitrary arrest and detention, unfair trials, torture and ill-treatment, and the crackdown on media professionals, film makers, human rights defenders, lawyers and opposition activists,\" the report said.\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Mr. Ban also expressed concern over Iran's failure to cooperate with UN investigators. He reported that Iran had last year responded only once to 17 communications sent by Special Procedures mandate holders such as Dr. Shaheed.\n\nDiane Ala'i noted how Iran's ambassador had told the Council that his country has been wrongly accused of human rights violations, and that it only seeks to cooperate with the international community.\n\n\"This vote and these reports should be a wake-up call for Iran,\" she said. \"Very few countries would now dare to say there are not serious violations of human rights in Iran. What the world wants is real answers from the Iranian authorities – not lip service about cooperation or baseless attacks against the Special Rapporteur.\""}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581545-90100.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations system made up of 47 States responsible for the promotion and protection of all human rights around the globe. UN Photo/Jean-Marc Ferre."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Human Rights Council 19th session"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[Report of the Secretary-General on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran](http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/RegularSession/Session19/A.HRC.19.82_AUV.pdf)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran](http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/RegularSession/Session19/A-HRC-19-66_en.pdf)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"The Baha'is of Iran"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[BWNS Iran Update](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/iran-update.html)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"Closed Doors: Iran's Campaign to Deny Higher Education to Baha'is\" - Special Section](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/education-special-report/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"Inciting Hatred: Iran's Media Campaign to Demonize Baha'is\" - Special Report](http://bic.org/resources/documents/inciting-hatred-book)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"The Trial of the Seven Baha'i Leaders\" - Special Report](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/yaran-special-report/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[List of BWNS articles](http://www.bahai.org/persecution/iran)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Recent Iran-related articles"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":900,"relatedStoryCaption":"New report says Iran remains one of the worst abusers of religious freedom in the world."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":899,"relatedStoryCaption":"International body that monitors the human rights of scientists urges Iran to free imprisoned Baha'is."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":890,"relatedStoryCaption":"Feature-length film examines the persecution of Iran's Baha'is."}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[{"tagName":"defence"}],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":900,"evergreenUrl":"irans-abuses-religious-freedom-condemned","title":"Iran's abuses of religious freedom condemned","description":"Iran remains one of the worst abusers of the right to religious freedom in the world, according to a new report. The US Commission on International...","date":"2012-03-22","customDateline":false,"city":"WASHINGTON","country":"UNITED STATES","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581527-90000.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581527-90000.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The annual report of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), published on 20 March. Established in 1998 by the US Congress, the USCIRF is charged with monitoring religious freedom around the world and recommending US policy responses to violators. The Commission has identified Iran and 15 other nations as \"countries of particular concern\" for their poor record last year at promoting or protecting religious freedom.","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Iran remains one of the worst abusers of the right to religious freedom in the world, according to a new report.\n\nThe US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has described how the \"government of Iran continues to engage in systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom, including prolonged detention, torture, and executions based primarily or entirely upon the religion of the accused.\"\n\nConditions continued to deteriorate during the past year especially for Baha'is, as well as Christians and Sufi Muslims, the USCIRF wrote in its (annual report)[http://www.uscirf.gov/images/Annual%20Report%20of%20USCIRF%202012(2).pdf] published on 20 March.\n\n\"Even the recognized non-Muslim religious minorities protected under Iran's constitution – Jews, Armenian and Assyrian Christians, and Zoroastrians – faced increasing discrimination, arrests, and imprisonment,\" the report said.\n\nA two-page section devoted to the situation of Iran's Baha'is highlighted \"increasingly harsh treatment, including increasing numbers of arrests and detentions and violent attacks on private homes and personal property.\" The report also described attacks on Baha'i-owned businesses, the denial of the right to higher education, vandalism of Baha'i cemeteries, the vilification of Baha'is in state-controlled media, and efforts to collect information on members of the Baha'i community and monitor their activities.\n\nThe report recommended that the US \"continue to speak out publicly and frequently at the highest levels about the severe religious freedom abuses in Iran, and draw attention to the need for the international community to hold Iranian authorities accountable in specific cases.\" In particular, it asked US officials to call for the release of jailed Baha'i leaders and educators, as well as other Baha'is in prison on account of their religion, and for all charges to be dropped against those Baha'is who have cases pending against them.\n\nOfficials are also urged to ask Iran to \"rescind immediately laws that permit members of the Baha'i faith to be killed with impunity, permit the Baha'i community to practice their faith in Iran, and allow full access for Baha'is to study in public universities without discrimination.\" The report also called for the release of all Christians in prison on account of their religion or belief, and for all pending charges against Christian converts to be dropped."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"The Baha'is of Iran"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"Closed Doors: Iran's Campaign to Deny Higher Education to Baha'is\" - Special Section](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/education-special-report/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[BWNS Iran Update](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/iran-update.html)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"The Trial of the Seven Baha'i Leaders\" - Special Report](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/yaran-special-report/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"Inciting Hatred: Iran's Media Campaign to Demonize Baha'is\" - Special Report](http://bic.org/resources/documents/inciting-hatred-book)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[List of BWNS articles](http://www.bahai.org/persecution/iran)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Recent Iran-related articles"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":899,"relatedStoryCaption":"International body that monitors the human rights of scientists urges Iran to free imprisoned Baha'is."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":897,"relatedStoryCaption":"Special Rapporteur sharply criticizes Iran's human rights record."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":890,"relatedStoryCaption":"Feature-length film examines the persecution of Iran's Baha'is."}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[{"tagName":"defence"}],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":899,"evergreenUrl":"scientists-call-release-bahai-educators","title":"Scientists call for release of Baha'i educators","description":"An international body that monitors the human rights of scientists around the world, and assists those in need, is urging the Iranian authorities...","date":"2012-03-20","customDateline":false,"city":"COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND","country":"UNITED STATES","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581517-899000.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581517-899000.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The American Physical Society represents more than 50,000 members – including physicists in academia, national laboratories and industry in the United States and throughout the world. The society’s Committee on International Freedom of Scientists is charged by APS with monitoring the human rights of scientists across the world and assisting those in need.","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"An international body that monitors the human rights of scientists around the world, and assists those in need, is urging the Iranian authorities to free imprisoned Baha'i educators.\n\nIn a letter addressed to Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Committee on International Freedom of Scientists of the American Physical Society is appealing to the Iranian government to \"immediately and unconditionally release\" all imprisoned individuals affiliated with the Baha'i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE) and to \"allow the Baha'i Institute to freely operate, and to ensure that all Iranian students have access to higher education.\"\n\n\"Those arrested are not political or religious leaders. They were lecturers in subjects ranging from accounting to dentistry...\" the letter states. \"The Committee believes it is a human right for educators to educate a younger generation...\"\n\n\"We urge the Iranian government to reconsider its policy and realize that barring a group of Iranians from education and economic advancement will ultimately be to the detriment of Iran's economy and progress for all its citizens.\"\n\nThe condemnation of the imprisonment of Baha'i educators has spanned the world. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has led the criticism of their sentences, along with such prominent figures as Nobel Peace Prize laureates Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Jose Ramos-Horta.\n\nSet up as an informal community initiative, BIHE offered education to young Baha'is barred from university because of their religion. \"This policy of excluding the largest religious minority in Iran, places the Baha'is on the margins of society...\" the Committee wrote on 29 February.\n\nSome 39 homes of Baha'is associated with BIHE were raided in a coordinated attack in May 2011. Lecturer Kamran Mortezaie is now serving a five-year jail term. Mahmoud Badavam, Noushin Khadem, Farhad Sedghi, Riaz Sobhani and Ramin Zibaie are each serving four year prison sentences. The judgments against them cast their activities in support of BIHE as crimes and as \"evidence\" of their purported aim to subvert the State. Two psychology teachers – Faran Hesami and her husband Kamran Rahimian – have also been sentenced to four years in prison."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"The Baha'is of Iran"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"Closed Doors: Iran's Campaign to Deny Higher Education to Baha'is\" - Special Section](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/education-special-report/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[BWNS Iran Update](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/iran-update.html)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"The Trial of the Seven Baha'i Leaders\" - Special Report](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/yaran-special-report/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"Inciting Hatred: Iran's Media Campaign to Demonize Baha'is\" - Special Report](http://bic.org/resources/documents/inciting-hatred-book)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[List of BWNS articles](http://www.bahai.org/persecution/iran)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Recent Iran-related articles"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":897,"relatedStoryCaption":"Special Rapporteur sharply criticizes Iran's human rights record."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":893,"relatedStoryCaption":"New document highlights widening crackdown on dissent."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":890,"relatedStoryCaption":"Feature-length film examines the persecution of Iran's Baha'is."}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[{"tagName":"defence"}],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":898,"evergreenUrl":"book-website-launched-accompany-building-house-worship","title":"Book and website launched to accompany building of House of Worship","description":"As construction of the innovative Baha'i House of Worship gets under way here, a new book and website have been launched to meet growing interest...","date":"2012-03-18","customDateline":false,"city":"SANTIAGO","country":"CHILE","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581501-89800a.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581501-89800a.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The new book, titled \"Donde Brilla La Luz\" – \"Where the Light Shines\" – is designed to introduce the Baha'i Faith and includes reflections on the impact that the Temple in Chile is intended to make on Latin-American society.","imageStyle":"canvas-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"As construction of the innovative Baha'i House of Worship gets under way here, a new book and website have been launched to meet growing interest in the Temple and what it represents.\n\nThe publication, *Donde Brilla La Luz* (\"Where the Light Shines\"), aims to respond to questions about the Baha'i Faith and includes reflections on the impact that the House of Worship is intended to make on the society around it.\n\nIt has been written by Daniel Duhart from Chile, Helen Mirkovitch-Kohm of Costa Rica and Jairo Roldan from Colombia.\n\n\"It is a very exciting time to launch this book, parallel to the advances in the construction of the Temple,\" said Mr. Duhart.\n\n\"All three of us have a common love for Latin America and its destiny. In comparison with other introductory books about the Baha'i Faith, this one particularly reflects on the needs of the continent and how the Baha'i teachings can contribute to finding a constructive way to approach those needs.\"\n\nFor example, said Mr. Duhart, the themes of unity and justice are very important for Latin Americans as they \"represent an unfinished desire in our history.\"\n\n\"What we have learned in the Baha'i community about how these two principles can be applied at both the individual and societal levels could be a very important contribution towards endeavors in Latin America to build a just and unified society,\" he said.\n\nIt is anticipated that *Donde Brilla La Luz* will soon be widely distributed through bookshops and promoted in the media.\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"**Online information**\n\nAlso providing specific information about the House of Worship is a new website in Spanish, Portuguese and English at [http://templo.bahai.cl](http://templo.bahai.cl).\n\nThe site provides facts about the building's design and construction, offers a contact page and a section about the Baha'i Faith and its teachings, and answers frequently asked questions about the Temple and the concepts that inspire it.\n\nIt is hoped that the site will also communicate the positive contribution that the Temple can make over time to Chilean society. The concept of the Baha'i House of Worship, as envisaged by Baha'u'llah, not only incorporates the central meeting place for prayer and meditation but, in time, a range of facilities and activities that serve the social and educational needs of the surrounding population.\n\n\"There is a growing realization that the construction of this Temple represents more than just an extraordinary building,\" said Daniel Duhart. \"Parallel to this, there is another construction process going on – of community building, in which increasing numbers of all ages are advancing together on a path of service to humanity.\"\n\n\"As this consciousness grows, the impact of this whole process on our society will acquire new dimensions,\" he said."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581501-89801a.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The website for the Baha'i Temple of South America, has been launched in Spanish, Portuguese and English at http://templo.bahai.cl. It aims to address the questions that the project is generating – about the temple's concept, design and construction, and the Baha'i teachings that have inspired it."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581501-89802.jpg"},"imageDescription":"An early model of the Baha'i House of Worship for the South American continent, now under construction in Santiago, Chile, simulating how it will appear at night. \"The Architectural Review\" wrote that it \"should become a gentle and welcoming beacon to the whole of South America.\""}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"The Baha'i House of Worship in Santiago"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":891,"relatedStoryCaption":"Contracts essential to the Temple's construction signed with international companies."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":800,"relatedStoryCaption":"Ground work begins after prolonged search for site and unprecedented technical challenges."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":505,"relatedStoryCaption":"Work commences on huge segments that will form the sides and dome of House of Worship."}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[{"tagName":"houses_of_worship"}],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":897,"evergreenUrl":"un-monitor-highlights-failure-irans-justice-system","title":"UN monitor highlights failure of Iran's justice system","description":"The United Nations investigator into human rights in Iran has sharply criticized the country's system of justice and human rights record. UN...","date":"2012-03-14","customDateline":false,"city":"GENEVA","country":"SWITZERLAND","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543584029-89700smaller.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581469-89700smaller.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Ahmed Shaheed, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, briefs the Human Rights Council on Monday 12 March. A former foreign minister of the Maldives, Dr. Shaheed was appointed to his post last June after a period of some nine years during which no one had held that position. UN Photo/Jean-Marc Ferré.","imageStyle":"large-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"The United Nations investigator into human rights in Iran has sharply criticized the country's system of justice and human rights record.\n\nUN Special Rapporteur Ahmed Shaheed told a meeting of the Human Rights Council here that he had received testimony from more than 141 witnesses which highlighted \"multifarious and systematic deficits in the Government's capacity to ensure respect for human rights.\"\n\nAnd in his formal [written report](http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/RegularSession/Session19/A-HRC-19-66_en.pdf) to the Council, Dr. Shaheed focused to an extent not previously seen in UN investigations of Iran on the overall failure of the country's justice system. Violations of due process were chronic, he said, and \"vaguely defined security provisions\" are applied in ways that \"unduly limit freedom of expression, association and assembly.\"\n\n\"In many cases, witnesses reported that they were arrested for activities protected by international law, and that they were detained in solitary confinement for prolonged periods with no access to legal counsel or family members, and in the absence of formal charges,\" Dr. Shaheed told the meeting.\n\nThe Special Rapporteur reported a dramatic increase in the number of executions carried out in the Islamic Republic – more than 600 during the year 2011, many for crimes not considered serious under international law. Iranian authorities have also stepped up their detention of journalists and lawyers, he said, and continued their persecution of ethnic and religious minorities.\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Baha'is continue to be arbitrarily arrested and detained for their beliefs, noted Dr. Shaheed, in violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Baha'is are also subjected to \"severe socio-economic pressure,\" facing deprivations of \"property, employment and education.\"\n\nMonday's session offered an interactive dialogue between the Special Rapporteur and Human Rights Council members. His concerns were promptly echoed by a majority of the nations addressing the session. Some 15 countries specifically highlighted the situation of Iran's Baha'is.\n\nBrazil's delegate – João Genésio de Almeida Filho – said his government had a \"particular concern\" about \"allegations of the systematic persecution of members of unrecognized religious communities, particularly the Baha'i community.\"\n\nReferring to Iran's state-sponsored campaign of demonizing Baha'is in the media, Veronika Stromsikova – delegate of the Czech Republic – said her country concurred with Dr. Shaheed's observation that \"the government's tolerance of an intensive defamation campaign against members of the Baha'i community incites discrimination\" in breach of international treaties.\n\nBani Dugal – the principal representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations – reported that Baha'is in Iran today face \"multiple violations, across the entire spectrum of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights\" running \"literally from kindergarten to the grave.\"\n\n\"We also agree with your presentation of the underlying obstacles,\" she told Dr. Shaheed, \"including elements of the legal framework and lack of adherence to the rule of law – none of which are being addressed by the government.\"\n\n\"As you clearly state, impunity continues to prevail in Iran, and certain individuals are exempted from laws and regulations meant to restrain the abuse of power,\" said Ms. Dugal.\n\n**Baha'i World News Service coverage of the persecution of the Baha'is in Iran**\n\n*A Special Section includes detailed information about [Iran's campaign to deny higher education to Baha'is](/human-rights/iran/education-special-report/). Another Special Report offers articles about the [seven Iranian Baha'i leaders](/human-rights/iran/yaran-special-report/) – their lives, their imprisonment, trial and sentencing. *\n\n*The [International Reaction](/human-rights/iran/iran-update/international-reaction.html) page is regularly updated with responses from governments, nongovernmental organizations, and prominent individuals, to actions taken against the Baha'is of Iran. The [Media Reports](/human-rights/iran/iran-update/media-reports.html) page presents a digest of media coverage from around the world. *"}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581469-89701a.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Country and NGO representatives at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, participating in an interactive dialog with the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, 12 March 2012."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581478-89702.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The 19th session of the Human Rights Council is currently under way in Geneva, Switzerland. The Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations system made up of 47 States responsible for the promotion and protection of all human rights around the globe. UN Photo/Jean-Marc Ferré."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Human Rights Council 19th session"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran](http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/RegularSession/Session19/A-HRC-19-66_en.pdf)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"The Baha'is of Iran"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[BWNS Iran Update](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/iran-update.html)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"Closed Doors: Iran's Campaign to Deny Higher Education to Baha'is\" - Special Section](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/education-special-report/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"Inciting Hatred: Iran's Media Campaign to Demonize Baha'is\" - Special Report](http://bic.org/resources/documents/inciting-hatred-book)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[\"The Trial of the Seven Baha'i Leaders\" - Special Report](https://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/yaran-special-report/)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedLinkRecord","relatedLinkText":"[List of BWNS articles](http://www.bahai.org/persecution/iran)","relatedLinkDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Recent Baha'i World News Service stories"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":896,"relatedStoryCaption":"Annual Commission on the Status of Women explores role of rural women in poverty and hunger eradication."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":895,"relatedStoryCaption":"UK government-sponsored project encourages people of all beliefs to improve neighborhoods."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":894,"relatedStoryCaption":"Educators, academics and theologians discuss how young people can better address contemporary issues."}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[{"tagName":"defence"}],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":896,"evergreenUrl":"forum-un-discusses-role-rural-women-farmers","title":"Forum at UN discusses role of rural women farmers","description":"Listening to and supporting rural women is fundamental to ending poverty and hunger, and achieving peace and development that is sustainable....","date":"2012-03-06","customDateline":null,"city":"NEW YORK","country":"UNITED STATES","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581437-89600.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581437-89600.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Alice Kachere of the National Smallholder Farmers' Association of Malawi (left) and Cesarie Kantarama, a Rwandan farmer, participated in an interactive forum on \"Building Capacity among Global Rural Women,\" held 1 March at the United Nations offices of the Baha'i International Community in New York. The event was one of many side events organized by NGOs in conjunction with the 56th annual UN Commission on the Status of Women, 27 February - 9 March 2012.","imageStyle":"large-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Listening to and supporting rural women is fundamental to ending poverty and hunger, and achieving peace and development that is sustainable.\n\nThat was the message from Michelle Bachelet, executive director of UN Women, who opened the annual UN Commission on the Status of Women here on 27 February.\n\nThe main theme of the Commission, which runs until Friday, is \"the empowerment of rural women and their role in poverty and hunger eradication, development and current challenges.\"\n\nTo support the theme, the Baha'i International Community issued a [statement](http://dl.bahai.org/bwns/assets/documentlibrary/896_CSW_English.pdf) and hosted an interactive forum on 1 March, co-sponsored by the World Farmers Organization (WFO), which offered a space for rural women farmers to share their experiences.\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"The story of one – Cesarie Kantarama from Rwanda – was typical of the challenges that face many of them. When she started out she had little land and no capital or support. \"But once I joined the women farmers' association, I started to get training and knowledge which reinforced my confidence,\" Ms. Kantarama told the gathering. \"...[I]t really starts when you are a member of an organization that gives you the confidence to seek out other opportunities and feel productive.\"\n\nThe importance of training was reinforced by Alice Kachere of the National Smallholder Farmers' Association of Malawi. \"You can give women better seeds, but if they don't know how to use those seeds, it means nothing,\" she said.\n\nWFO president Robert Carlson emphasized Michelle Bachelet's point about the importance of careful listening.\n\n\"We can't impose our views of what rural women farmers need,\" he said. \"There has to be some local involvement that gives direction on how their needs are to be assisted. They need to set their goals.\"\n\nIn its statement to the Commission, the Baha'i International Community examined the connection between the empowerment of women and the construction of a new and more just social order.\n\n\"We sought to share the idea that for the empowerment of women to reach fulfillment, there must be a change in the hearts and minds of people, and in the structures of society,\" said May Akale, who led the BIC's delegation.\n\n\"More specifically, there needs to be recognition, on a fundamental level, that women and men are equal, and for social progress to take place, they need to work hand-in-hand.\n\nOther activities hosted by the BIC for this year's Commission included a discussion on \"Rural Women and Stakeholders: Framing Joint Actions;\" an event that examined the stereotyping of religious women; and a panel discussion, titled \"Older Women: Rights, Voice, Action.\""}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581439-89601.jpg"},"imageDescription":"UN Women's executive director Michelle Bachelet delivers the introductory speech at the opening of the 56th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women, held in the General Assembly Hall at UN Headquarters in New York, 27 February 2012. Pictured right is Marjon Kamara, Chair of the Session. Photo Credit: UN Photo/Paulo Filgueiras."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581437-89602.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Among the Baha'i delegates to the 56th Commission on the Status of Women, held in New York from 27 February-9 March 2012, were: back row, from left, Lori Noguchi (Macau), May Akale (BIC), Julia Berger (BIC), Leslie Stewart (Colombia); Front row: Florence Kelley (Hawaii), Elizabeth Kharono (Uganda), Bani Dugal (BIC), and Nilakshi Rijkhowa (India)."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581440-89603.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Elizabeth Kharono, director of an NGO that helps rural women farmers in Uganda, speaking at an interactive forum on \"Building Capacity among Global Rural Women,\" held 1 March 2012 at the United Nations offices of the Baha'i International Community in New York. Ms. Kharono said it was important to end the \"invisibility\" of women farmers. \"There is a tendency not to see them as farmers,\" she said, because of persisting stereotypes that cast only men as real farmers."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581439-89604.jpg"},"imageDescription":"An interactive forum on \"Building Capacity among Global Rural Women,\" was held on 1 March 2012 at the United Nations offices of the Baha'i International Community in New York. The gathering offered a space for rural women farmers to share their experiences."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Baha'i International Community statement to the 2012 Commission on the Status of Women, 56th session"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedPdfRecord","relatedPdfText":"(English)[http://dl.bahai.org/bwns/assets/documentlibrary/896_CSW_English.pdf] (Adobe Acrobat 39KB) ","relatedPdfDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedPdfRecord","relatedPdfText":"(Arabic)[http://dl.bahai.org/bwns/assets/documentlibrary/896_CSW_Arabic.pdf] (Adobe Acrobat 508KB) ","relatedPdfDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedPdfRecord","relatedPdfText":"(Chinese)[http://dl.bahai.org/bwns/assets/documentlibrary/896_CSW_Chinese.pdf] (Adobe Acrobat 573KB) ","relatedPdfDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedPdfRecord","relatedPdfText":"(Spanish)[http://dl.bahai.org/bwns/assets/documentlibrary/896_CSW_Spanish.pdf] (Adobe Acrobat 868KB) ","relatedPdfDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedPdfRecord","relatedPdfText":"(Russian)[http://dl.bahai.org/bwns/assets/documentlibrary/896_CSW_Russian.pdf] (Adobe Acrobat 997KB) ","relatedPdfDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedPdfRecord","relatedPdfText":"(French)[http://dl.bahai.org/bwns/assets/documentlibrary/896_CSW_French.pdf] (Adobe Acrobat 848KB) ","relatedPdfDescription":""},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Related Baha'i World News Service stories"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":809,"relatedStoryCaption":"Program of events at 2011 Commission on the Status of Women explores spiritual and moral development."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":761,"relatedStoryCaption":"Discussion hears that images demeaning to women have an unhealthy impact on both girls and boys."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":754,"relatedStoryCaption":"New Zealand and Fijian women collaborate on artwork. All three artists are Baha'is and used their vision of a future society to inspire their work."}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[{"tagName":"Discourse"}],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":895,"evergreenUrl":"government-launches-year-service-initiative-national-bahai-center","title":"Government launches \"Year of Service\" initiative at national Baha'i center","description":"A government-sponsored initiative to encourage people of all beliefs to help improve their local neighborhoods has been launched at the national...","date":"2012-03-02","customDateline":false,"city":"LONDON","country":"ENGLAND","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581414-89500.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581414-89500.jpg"},"imageDescription":"UK Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles MP, answers questions from a radio reporter about \"A Year of Service,\" a government-sponsored initiative to encourage voluntary service by the UK's nine major faith communities. The launch and first volunteering day of the program was held at the national Baha'i center in London on 28 February 2012.","imageStyle":"large-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"A government-sponsored initiative to encourage people of all beliefs to help improve their local neighborhoods has been launched at the national Baha'i center here.\n\nThe program, titled \"A Year of Service,\" aims to recognize the role of faith in inspiring charitable work, and promote collaboration between the United Kingdom's nine major faith communities – Baha'i, Buddhist, Christian, Jain, Jewish, Hindu, Muslim, Sikh and Zoroastrian.\n\nTwelve special volunteering days are being held during 2012, each of them coinciding with an existing religious festival and focusing on a distinct theme for community action.\n\nSecretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles MP, joined faith leaders and guests of all ages for the launch and first volunteering day on 28 February at 27 Rutland Gate in London – the national Baha'i center. The occasion also marked the annual Baha'i Intercalary Days, a period specifically dedicated to service and hospitality.\n\n\"A Year of Service is a wonderful celebration of the practical contribution that faith groups make to enrich their neighborhoods and improve the lives of those around them,\" Mr. Pickles said ahead of the launch. \"We would be poorer by far without their contribution...\"\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Some 50 guests of all faiths assisted in the decorating of cakes and the wrapping of donated clothing and toiletries, all of which were later distributed at a church-sponsored shelter for the homeless in the west of London.\n\nSpeaking on behalf of the Baha'is of the UK,  Kishan Manocha said, \"Faith should be a source of joy, of bringing people together in common purpose.  We hope that the launch will give vivid expression to these special fruits of faith and inspire us all in our efforts to improve our neighborhoods.\""}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581414-89501.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Volunteers from a range of religious communities decorated cakes and wrapped gifts to be distributed at a homeless shelter in the west of London. The activity was part of the launch and first volunteering day of \"A Year of Service,\" a UK government-sponsored initiative to encourage religious communities to collaborate in serving society. The launch was held at the national Baha'i center on 28 February 2012."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543581413-89502.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The logo for \"A Year of Service,\" a UK government-sponsored program aimed at exemplifying the principle of selfless service to others, and promoting collaboration between the United Kingdom's nine major faith communities."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedFieldHeaderRecord","relatedHeaderText":"Recent Baha'i World News Service stories"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":889,"relatedStoryCaption":"UK Baha'is join other religions at gathering with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":891,"relatedStoryCaption":"Contracts essential to the construction work of Temple are signed."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_RelatedArticleRecord","storyNumber":885,"relatedStoryCaption":"Ambitious project reaches fruition with book's publication."}],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null}],"lang":"en","language":"en","location":"/archive/44/"}},"staticQueryHashes":["2762707590"]}