Human Rights, the U.N. and the Baha'is in Iran

This volume provides a comprehensive assessment of the contribution of the United Nations to the human rights situation of the Baha'is in Iran. It does this by examining the theoretical, legal, institutional and political dimensions of this issue in detail. The situation of the Baha'i community in Iran between 1979 and 2002 provides a particularly good test case for the international community due to its clarity. By giving attention to a singular case within a discrete time frame, this volume is able to effectively examine the impact of UN human rights protection. Attention is given in this study to the clash between religion and human rights, the protection of freedom of religion or belief in international law, the workings of UN human rights charter-based and treaty bodies an their various mechanisms, and recommendations for the resolution of the Baha'i human rights situation in Iran.

Nazila Ghanea has been lecturing for the past decade and is currently the MA Convenor of the MA in Understanding and Securing Human Rights at the University of London, Institute of Commonwealth Studies. She is a graduate of Leeds and Keele Universities in the United Kingdom. Her research and publications have focused on freedom of religion or belief, the UN human rights machinery and particularly the Commission on Human Rights, religious minorities in the Middle East, diplomacy and human rights and the human rights of women. She has participated in over fifteen UN fora as consultant, delegation member or independent expert. The research for this publication stemmed from her doctoral research at the University of Keele.