Gozinesh

In Iran, the Gozinesh Law (passed in 1985) has the effect of prohibiting a number of religious and ethnic minorities from fully participating in civil life. This law and other gozinesh provisions make access to employment, education, and a range of other areas conditional upon a rigorous ideological screening, the principal prerequisite for which is devotion to the tenets of Islam.

These laws are regularly applied to discriminate against religious and ethnic groups that are not officially recognized, such as the Mandaeans, Ahl-e Haq, and Baha'i. The United Nations has repeatedly expressed concern over this practice in the reports of UN Secretary-General, in the reports of ILO, and so on. Some recent examples of such concerns are given below:

the combined eighteenth and nineteenth periodic reports of the Islamic Republic of Iran in August 2010, expressed concern at the limited enjoyment of political, economic, social and cultural rights by, inter alia, Arab, Azeri, Baloch and Kurdish communities and some communities of non-citizens, in particular with regard to housing, education, freedom of expression and religion, health and employment, despite the economic growth in the country. The Committee drew particular attention to reports regarding the application of the “gozinesh” criterion, a selection procedure requiring prospective State officials and employees to demonstrate allegiance to the Islamic Republic of Iran and the State religion, and expressed concern that it might limit employment opportunities and political participation for