Introduction
The Islamic Republic of Iran is one of the multi-ethnic countries, including Kurds, Turks, Lurs, Baloch, etc. Although the word “minority” is included in international law, in Iran’s laws, there is no term “ethnic group” with the majority of the population, so there are no “ethnic minorities” in Iran, but ethnic groups with different languages and cultures have been mentioned. The reason for the dominance of the Persian ethnicity over other ethnicities in Iran arose from the mastery of the Persian language and not the Persian ethnicity. All Iranian ethnicities, including Azeris, Arabs, Kurds, and Balochs, are present in the government institutions, and if there are no competent people in the governing institutions, the reason is other than belonging to a certain ethnic group, and other reasons should be checked.[1] Group and cultural differences on the one hand and the necessity of peaceful coexistence for the order of Iran’s social system on the other hand require a special legal system to establish a logical relationship between cultural independence and national solidarity. The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, taking into account the predomination of the majority over the minority and the goals of human rights, has established rules that are mentioned below.[2]
1- Recognized rights of ethnic minorities in the Iranian Constitution
In the Constitution of Iran, only the religious minority is recognized, because of the rule of religion. The different ethnicities with different cultures, races, and languages are not considered minorities so they have equal social and political rights as other people in the country.[3] The word “minority” is mentioned only in the 26th and 67th articles of the Constitution and it only is mentioned to the “religious minority”.[4] Among the socio-political rights for people with racial, linguistic, and ethnic differences are: equality in the opportunity to reach the political and administrative authorities of the society; Equality in basic opportunities such as education, suitable job and amenities facilities; Equality in legal rights and privileges; Equality in rights related to political participation and its duties.[5]
The first and most important step to pay attention to the religious, linguistic, and ethnic diversity of ethnicities is in the 15th principle of the Constitution, which has a linguistic approach to minorities. In this principle, the teaching of ethnic literature in schools (along with the Persian language) and the use of local and ethnic languages in the press and mass media are emphasized while recognizing the ethnic diversity in the country.[6]
Although the Constitution of Iran does not explicitly mention the recognition of the identity of ethnics, the 19th principle, creates a positive indication for the recognition of different ethnicities in Iran by recognizing “ethnic” and “tribe”.[7] According to this principle: “All people of Iran whatever the ethnic group or tribe to which they belong enjoy equal rights; color, race, language, and like that do not bestow any privilege”. The third principle of the Constitution also mentions the necessity of protecting all ethnic and tribal minorities.
By Article 64 of the Constitution, each of the official religious minorities can have a representative in the Islamic Consultative. Since ethnic minorities have the same rights as Iran’s ethnic majority, the differences in their religion, culture, and ethnicity do not prevent them from enjoying the rights of this principle.[8] In the 20th principle of the Constitution all citizens of the country, both men and women, equally enjoy the protection of the law and enjoy all human, political, economic, social, and cultural rights in conformity with Islamic criteria. [9] This principle shows the lack of discrimination between different ethnic groups in the country.
2- The rights of ethnic groups in Iran’s Charter on Citizens’ Rights
In Iran’s Charter of Citizen Rights, which was approved in 2016, the rights of ethnic and religious minorities are emphasized, including in Article 10: “It is prohibited to insult, degrade or cause hatred against ethnicities and followers of other faiths and creeds and social and political groups.” Also in Article 77: “Citizens have the right to freely select and engage in the work they choose without discrimination and in compliance with the law. No one has the right to deprive citizens of this right on the grounds of ethnicity, religion, gender, and or political and or social orientation”. Articles 97 and 99 state that: “citizens have the right to intercultural communication, irrespective of their ethnicity or religion and citizens have the right to enjoy the facilities required for participation in cultural life and to join other citizens, among other things, in founding organizations” and “associations, as well as practicing religious and tribal rites and pursuing cultural traditions, by the law”. In Article 110 emphasizes that “no one shall have the right to instill tribal, religious and political hatred in children’s mind, or create violence in respect of a special race or religion, by education or training or by mass media in children’s minds”[10].
3- General policies of spatial planning
In the general policies of the country’s development announced by the Supreme Leader approved in 2021, regarding national and territorial integration, attention is paid to “national unity and solidarity”, “national security” and “ethnicities and religions”, and the development of human resources is considered as the main pillar of the country’s spatial planning.[11] The four components of spatial planning including comprehensiveness, holisticism, foresight, and attention to territorial geography, are the determining factors of implementation criteria. Among these criteria are integration and regularization in different territories of the land.[12] The policy or goals of this announcement show that all the residents of Iran from every ethnicity and tribe have been considered in this development and decentralization has been avoided in different regions of the country.
Writer: Dehghani, Maryam
[1] Fazaeli, Mostafa and Karami, Musa. (2017), Ethnic Minorities in Iran or Iranian Ethnic Groups? From a journalistic point of view to a legal point of view, Journal of Legal Studies of Shiraz University, 9th volume, third issue. (In Persian)
[2] Hashemi, Seyyed Mohammad. (2014), Human Rights and fundamental Freedoms, Tehran: Mizan, third edition, p.527. (In Persian)
[3] Sepeharifar, Sima and Parvin, Khairullah. (2014), Minority Rights in the Constitution, Islamic Law Studies Quarterly, 3rd, 6th year. (In Persian)
[4] https://www.shora-gc.ir/files/fa/news/1398/9/21/4354_236.pdf, last seen at 02/05/2024 (In Persian)
[5] Shaabani, Reza and Kavossi, Zahra. (1401), The Rights of the Religious Minority Community in the Contemporary History of Iran, Scientific Quarterly of Jurisprudence and Modern Law, second year, second period, sixth issue. (In Persian)
[6] https://smhi.ir/index.php/note/item/5327-11, last seen at 01/28/2024 (In Persian)
[7] Hashemi, Seyyed Mohammad. (2014), op.cit, p.59 (In Persian)
[8] https://www.shora-gc.ir/files/fa/news/1398/9/21/4354_236.pdf, , last seen at 01/31/2024(In Persian)
[9] Article 20 of the Constitution (In Persian)
[10] https://media.president.ir/uploads/ads/148214204462093500.pdf, last seen at 01/28/2024 (In Persian)
[11] https://dotic.ir/news/4351, last seen at 01/28/2024 (In Persian)
[12] https://jtcp.ut.ac.ir/data/jtcp/news/amayesh.pdf, , last seen at 02/03/2024 (In Persian)