http://www.voicesdivine.com Bahai audio books & podcast recordings of writings, prayers, news, & community messages for lovers of Bahaullah Fri, 13 Jan 2012 00:38:12 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= Bahai audio books & podcast recordings of writings, prayers, news, & community messages for lovers of Bahaullah VoicesDivine no © 2008-2010 VoicesDivine.com and others VoicesDivine.com Baha'i Podcasts https://www.voicesdivine.com/main/wp-content/plugins/powerpress/rss_default.jpg http://www.voicesdivine.com http://www.voicesdivine.com/news/bahais-and-rights-groups-ajmadinejad-must-address-discrimination/ http://www.voicesdivine.com/news/bahais-and-rights-groups-ajmadinejad-must-address-discrimination/#comments Sun, 19 Apr 2009 01:29:03 +0000 John Iron http://news.voicesdivine.com/?p=320 http://www.voicesdivine.com/news/bahais-and-rights-groups-ajmadinejad-must-address-discrimination/feed/ 0 Baha'i,Durban II,Durban Review Conference,Federation of Human Rights,FIDH,Iran,Iranian League for the Defense of Human Rights,LDDHI,Mr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,President,UN,United Nations The Baha'i International Community and two human rights organizations in call on Iranian President Ahmadinejad to address discrimination in his own country. (http://news.voicesdivine.com/wp-content/uploads/news/20090419-BWNS-708-Durban-II-Statement-150.jpg) 2009 April 19, GENEVA, Switzerland (http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=107001268033865952759.000467d7fa436430d35d6&ll=46.230916,6.129684&spn=0.100935,0.264359&t=k&z=13) - The Baha'i International Community (http://bic.org/) joined two human rights organizations in calling on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to address discrimination in his own country when he speaks this week at the conference known as Durban II. The statement was issued as a joint news release by the Baha'i International Community (http://bic.org/), the Iranian League for the Defense of Human Rights (LDDHI), and the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH) (http://www.fidh.org/). In addition to calling on the Iranian president to address discrimination against ethnic minorities, women, and religious minorities, the three organizations also ask him to redress the problem of incitement to hatred. "Of particular concern is the manner in which the government-controlled news media has vilified adherents of the Baha'i Faith," the statement said, citing the hundreds of articles, radio and television programs, Internet postings, and pamphlets containing hate speech that have been disseminated in Iran in recent years. The Durban Review Conference (http://www.un.org/durbanreview2009/index.shtml) is being held under the auspices of the United Nations (http://www.un.org). The purpose is to evaluate progress towards the goals set by the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance in Durban, South Africa, in 2001. The following is the news release issued by the three organizations (http://news.voicesdivine.com/wp-content/uploads/news/20090419-BWNS-708-Durban-II-Statement.pdf): Baha'i Internation Community United Nations Office (http://bic.org)Iranian League for the Defense of Human Rights (LDDHI) International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) (http://www.fidh.org/) For Immediate Release President Ahmadinejad must redress grave discrimination in Iran GENEVA, 19 April 2009 - If he desires to lend genuine support to the Durban process, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad should address the severe forms of discrimination faced by minority groups in his own country when he speaks at the Durban Review Conference here this week, said the Baha'i International Community (BIC), the Iranian League for the Defense of Human Rights (LDDHI) and the [International Federation for Human Rights] Fédération internationale des ligues des droits de l'homme (FIDH) today. "By coming to the Durban Review Conference, President Ahmadinejad signals a commitment to the conference's goals of eliminating all forms of discrimination and intolerance," said Diane Ala'i, the BIC's representative to the United Nations in Geneva. "His first move on returning home, then, should be to address the severe discrimination and persecution that have flourished under his tenure." Karim Lahidji of LDDHI said: "Human rights have sharply deteriorated in Iran under the presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Discrimination against ethnic and religious minorities, as well as against women, are of grave concern. Our hope is that governments, the news media, and other Durban Review Conference participants will hold President Ahmadinejad accountable on these points." The BIC, LDDHI, and FIDH called particularly on President Ahmadinejad to redress: Discrimination against ethnic minorities Repression against activists belonging to ethnic minorities is rising dramatically in Iran. Kurds and other groups are accused of terrorism, attacks on national security or treason, without concrete evidence. The authorities do not seem to make a distinction between peaceful advocacy for the rights of minorities and terrorist attacks by armed groups. Over the past year, John Iron no 6:45