Mr. Brendan McNamara:

I thank the committee members for their very interesting questions, insightful comments and the very warm welcome we have received. The question was asked as to what the Baha'is have ever done. It dates back to the foundation of the Baha'i faith and is based on those religious grounds I mentioned. Over the years it became very convenient to have a bogeyman, a minority community, an other, whenever things were going wrong. In a country where the media was very tightly controlled, Government propaganda against Baha'is went unanswered because there was no access. Even ordinary people thought that perhaps there must be something strange, but that has changed, thankfully, because much more information is available. People know the people with whom they live, they know the people around them and there is a considerable number of Baha'is in Iran.

Iran is a terrific country with a marvellous culture and one would want to see it play its full part in the community of nations. Baha'is absolutely adore their country. They are proud of their culture and we are in no way against Iran or Islam. This is trying to see, on the human rights principle, how we can find, not necessarily a favoured position for the Baha'i community, but just an equal setting so that Baha'is, like everybody else in Iran, can play their part in the progress of the country and, therefore, in the progress of the international community.

The question as to whether this is a real change or not is very interesting, because we hope it is and that these releases will be followed by a charter and more real change. The Baha'i community could provide a litmus test to gauge whether those changes are real. Earlier I mentioned I was reading how the rapporteur, Professor Bielefeldt, said the Baha'is are persecuted from the cradle to the grave and beyond. People might not understand that but it is a reference to the fact that Baha'i cemeteries have been destroyed and confiscated, so as a Baha'i one is not necessarily that safe even after one is dead.

If we see things really happening with respect to the Baha'i community, people allowed to have their own resting places unimpeded, be educated, go to university and hold jobs, that will be a signal that President Rouhani's words are coming to fruition. We hope for that. We hope for a day when the Baha'i community is emancipated, as well as the other minorities. Deputy Maureen Sullivan mentioned that Christians are suffering. We are very conscious that all kinds of minorities and groups such as journalists, activists, labour leaders and students are all in a difficult situation and we look forward to all that changing.