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The 45^th Session of the UN Commission on Population and Development (23-27 April) focused on the priority theme of “Adolescents and Youth.” Bahá'í delegates to the Commission shared the perspectives and experiences of the Bahá'í community in promotion approaches to education that help young people to become protagonists of their development and agents of positive change in their communities. The Bahá'í International Community’s statement to the Commission addressed the concepts of education in...

Preparing the world's young people for the future will require new directions in education that emphasize their role as global citizens.

That was among the ideas presented here at a panel discussion, sponsored by the Baha'i International Community, as a side event to the United Nations Commission on Population and Development, 23-27 April.

Titled "Youth and Adolescents: Educating the Protagonists of Social Change," the panel sought to address the main theme of this year's Commission.

Young people should be taught "the concept of fundamental human rights, and the...

The plight of Iran's seven imprisoned Baha'i leaders has been capturing the public's attention in 12 of the world's major cities, where a day of action marked the combined total of 10,000 days that the seven have so far spent in prison.

In an initiative coordinated by human rights organization United4Iran, the image of the seven was widely displayed on Sunday 1 April – on mobile billboards, buses, bicycles, a canal boat, and T-shirts.

The billboard image of the Baha'i leaders was a mosaic of smaller photographs of hundreds...

Sunday 1 April marks 10,000 days that Iran's seven former Baha'i leaders have spent in prison between them – a period throughout which they have been deprived of the rights accorded to prisoners under Iran's own laws and regulations.

Prior to their arrests in 2008, the seven were members of an ad hoc national-level group which attended to the spiritual and social needs of Iran's Baha'i community. They are Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Mahvash Sabet, Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Vahid Tizfahm. Ms. Sabet was detained on 5 March 2008. Her...

What is spirituality? How can religious education encourage it? And what role do both religion and spirituality play in fostering human well-being?

Those were among the questions considered by educators, academics and theologians from the world's religions – including the Baha'i Faith – at the "International Symposium on Religion, Spirituality, and Education for Human Flourishing," held here 24-26 February.

The event – co-convened by the Guerrand-Hermès Foundation for Peace (GHFP) and the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations – encouraged...

The Baha’i International Community made a statement on the situation of the Baha’is in Iran at the 19th session of the Human Right Council. The statement cited the report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights in Iran, stating that “The report [of the Rapporteur]…makes it clear  that Bahá'ís have no rights in that country.  The government subjects them to arbitrary detention, violence, and prolonged solitary  confinement…...

The United Nations investigator into human rights in Iran has sharply criticized the country's system of justice and human rights record.

UN Special Rapporteur Ahmed Shaheed told a meeting of the Human Rights Council here that he had received testimony from more than 141 witnesses which highlighted "multifarious and systematic deficits in the Government's capacity to ensure respect for human rights."

And in his formal written report to the...

The Baha’i International Community posed a question to Mr. Ahmed Shaheed, Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights in Iran who presented his report at the 19th session of the Human Rights Council. During the interactive dialogue, the Bahá'í International Community asked, “Given Iran’s refusal to engage in any substantive manner with UN human rights mechanisms, how should the international community respond?” It cited Mr. Shaheed’s report and confirmed that the concerted efforts of the Iranian government “generated a dramatic increase in human rights abuses: ...