Dan Neville (Limerick West, Fine Gael)
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Question 100: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he has examined the concerns of the Baha'i community in connection with the treatment of their fellow members in Iran (details supplied). [15814/06]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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As I explained to the House in reply to a question on 25 April 2006, I am aware of the difficulties facing the Baha'i community in Iran. The statement made on 20 March by the UN special rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Asma Jahangir, is the latest in a series of reports which raise serious concerns about the matter.

The Department of Foreign Affairs maintains close contacts with the Baha'i community in Ireland about the situation of their coreligionists on the ground. In its contacts with the Iranian Embassy in Dublin the Department regularly conveys the Government's concerns.

Ireland has also frequently raised the situation of the Baha'i in Iran at EU level and the EU's concerns about the treatment of the Baha'i have in turn been brought to the attention of the Iranian authorities on many occasions. Ireland and its EU partners have also supported resolutions on Iran at the UN General Assembly and at the UN Commission on Human Rights. These initiatives have brought specific attention to the plight of the Baha'i in Iran.

The situation of the Baha'i community has also been raised during the formal EU-Iran human rights dialogues, the last session of which took place during the Irish term of the EU Presidency in 2004. Iran has been reluctant to agree dates for a renewed session of the human rights dialogue and the dialogue has been in abeyance since that time, though consultations on the next session are ongoing.

The External Relations Council on 10 April 2006 issued conclusions on Iran which underlined the EUs continuing concern about human rights in Iran, in particular the treatment of the Baha'i and other religious minorities. In addition, the EU Presidency raised several human rights concerns directly with the Iranian Government on 11 April 2006, including the problems alluded to in the special rapporteur's statement. Ireland and the EU will remain actively engaged on this issue and will continue to raise it in all appropriate fora.