English

Oral statement to HRC 20th Session

Oral statement to HRC 20th Session

UN Human Rights Council – 20th session, June 2012 Oral statement under item 4

Geneva—28 June 2012

Madam President,

To our great regret, the Baha'i International Community has to raise, at each session, the gross violations perpetrated against the Baha'is of Iran. Unfortunately, despite its claims in Council plenary or at UPR, the Iranian government totally ignores recommendations made by other governments and UN Special Procedures – whether these come from the Special Rapporteur on Iran or the thematic mandates that it pledges to value.

At this session, we will focus on economic strangulation: a slow but relentless ESCR violation, whose aim is nothing less than the annihilation of an entire community as a viable entity in Iran.

Baha'is are not allowed to work in the public sector, and they face severe restrictions in the private sector, too.  Officials are following the government’s instructions[1] to drive Baha'is out of 25 trades from which they have been banned and from any other professional activity providing more than a minimum wage. In Kerman and elsewhere, officials systematically refuse to renew business licenses for Baha'is, and even revoke valid ones. Baha'i-owned businesses have been shut down all over the country, including 15 shops and two factories recently in Semnan – where Baha'i owners are under constant surveillance and receive threatening phone calls.  Barred from bringing merchandise from outside the province for trade and sale, some have been severely limited and others totally prevented from earning a living.

The government is so determined to suffocate the Baha'i community economically that officials do not bat an eye when these measures also cause hardship for the majority Shi’i Muslim population. Licenses are revoked for Muslim business partners of Baha'is, as well, and in Semnan, one of the factories closed in May had 51 employees: 15 Baha'is and 36 non-Baha'is.

All of this goes to show that the Iranian government has no qualms when violating any of the rights of any of its citizens.


[1] These instructions were promulgated in 2007 by the Public Places Supervision Office, a government bureau in charge of maintaining morality in public places, including shops, offices and other places of work.

Sustaining Societies: Towards a New "We"

Sustaining Societies: Towards a New "We"

The Baha'i International Community’s Statement to the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil—20 June 2012

As nations and civil society gather at the Rio+20 Conference to take the next step in forging a new vision of sustainable development, the momentum generated in the lead-up to the conference has already brought about new levels of inquiry and of collaboration. Preparations for the event have stimulated thinking about economic paradigms, modes of governance, indicators of progress, the role of youth, as well as the very purpose of development. To an unprecedented extent, the United Nations has opened the door to the participation of civil society in the processes of the Conference. While many more voices remain to be heard, a call has been raised for governments to seize the opportunity before them: to demonstrate high-mindedness and resolve, to eschew partisanship and propaganda, and to articulate a visionary and ambitious framework for human flourishing.

The economic and institutional frameworks elaborated in Rio will require a reexamination of the relationships that sustain society: relationships between nation states, within and among communities, between individuals and social institutions, among individuals themselves and between humanity and the natural environment. Sustainable development assumes a relationship between present and future generations—a relationship defined not only by geography but also by time. An earnest exploration of these relationships provides a lens through which to evaluate the merits and shortcomings of any proposed institutional arrangements and, more importantly, helps us to articulate our aspirations for the future. The following thoughts are offered as a contribution to the conference on these themes.  

Trusteeship

A critical dimension of the design and implementation of new economic and institutional frameworks is a world-encompassing trusteeship—the idea that each one of us enters the world as a trust of the whole and, in turn, bears a measure of responsibility for the welfare of all.[1] This principle of trusteeship calls into question the efficacy of present-day expressions of sovereignty. It challenges the ethical basis of loyalties that do not extend beyond the nation state. While multilateralism has strengthened and expanded cooperation among nation states, it has not removed the struggles for power that dominate relations among them.  The mere collaboration of self-interested actors in a multilateral enterprise does not ensure favorable outcomes for the community of nations as a whole.  As long as one group of nations perceives its interests in opposition to another, progress will be limited and short-lived.

Trusteeship is a concept equally applicable to many other areas of concern to humanity.  Human rights, for example, achieve their highest expression when understood in the context of trusteeship: they come to provide a framework for human relations through which all people have the opportunity to realize their full potential, and all are concerned with ensuring the same for others. The shift to sustainable modes of production and consumption is a further expression of this principle: put simply, to consume more than one’s fair share is to deplete the resources needed by others.

The principle of trusteeship implies the need for an intergenerational perspective in which the well-being of future generations is taken into account at all levels of decision-making. Proposals such as the creation of Ombudspersons or High Commissioners for Future Generations provide examples of efforts to translate this principle into action. Such institutions would be tasked with considering both the long-term interests of young people and generations to come as well as short-term economic and political interests and imperatives.

Elimination of the Extremes of Wealth and Poverty

Today, over 80% of the world’s people live in countries where income differentials are widening. While poverty eradication measures have improved living standards in some parts of the world, inequality remains widespread.  Numerous and wide-ranging deficits in human well-being are endemic in both poor and rich countries alike. Consider that nearly 800 million adults cannot read or write, two and half billion people lack basic sanitation, nearly half of the world’s children live in poverty, and nearly one billion people do not have enough to eat. At the other extreme, a mere thousand or so individuals seem to control nearly six percent of the Gross World Product. These are symptomatic of structural flaws in the economic system and its institutions, and need to be corrected.

A careful examination of how extreme concentrations of wealth distort relationships within and among nations is timely. Such extremes undermine economic vitality, cripple participation in decision-making and political processes, obstruct the flow of knowledge and information, isolate people and communities, and distort the perception of human capacity. Wealth needs to be acquired and expended by nations in a way that enables all the people of the world to prosper. Structures and systems that permit a few to have inordinate riches while the masses remain impoverished must be replaced by arrangements that foster the generation of wealth in a way that promotes justice.

Creating sustainable patterns of economic activity that extend from the local to the global level—covering urban and rural areas—will require a fundamental reorientation of both the principles and institutional arrangements related to production and consumption. Initiatives that encourage the creation and distribution of wealth in rural regions and policies that prevent the forces of economic globalization from marginalizing grassroots initiatives deserve particular attention. Promising approaches include strengthening local capacity for technological innovation and fostering respect for the knowledge possessed by a community or culture.

The progress and well-being of all humanity requires the development and implementation of economic models, which reflect the central role that relationships play in human life. Resources must be directed away from those activities and programs that are damaging to both the social and natural environment and efforts bent towards the creation of systems that foster cooperation and mutualism.

There is much more to be learned about both extremes of the poverty-wealth spectrum. The voices and lived experiences of the people—including the poorest—must be heard. Beyond economic variables, for example, a much fuller appreciation must be gained of the social and spiritual resources upon which the masses draw in living their lives. Our understanding of extreme wealth is also incomplete. Given the increasingly global nature of wealth and its extremes, much of this wealth escapes national oversight and management, and is not reflected in government statistics. What are the structures that permit the ongoing existence of extreme wealth?  How is it perpetuated by economic and political systems? What kinds of identities and qualities are fostered by its continuing presence?  A deeper, more widely held understanding of the implications of the global movements and uses of wealth is needed if the actions of governments and the international community are to advance in an informed and constructive manner.

Consultation

The issues associated with promoting a vision for sustainable development are highly complex.  As such, it seems most unlikely that they can be solved by the imposition of simplistic theories and reductive formulae.  What is needed is an effective process for exploring issues and making decisions that promotes genuine participation, facilitates collective action, and is responsive to the complexity inherent in efforts to forge sustainable systems and structures.  In this connection, we offer a model of ‘consultation’—a principle–based approach to collective decision-making practiced by Baha'i communities around the world. 

Of course, the following points are not made in the belief that a simple change to the modes of collective decision-making will, by itself, eradicate poverty and foster sustainability.  It is becoming increasingly clear, however, that current decision-making structures which exclude the masses of the world’s people, which perpetuate conflict, which place too much emphasis on the concerns of a powerful few, and which are often subservient to struggles for political ascendency, have proved inadequate for the task of building a better world in which all are able to prosper.

Participation

A Baha'i approach to development is based on a conviction that all people not only have the right to benefit from a materially and spiritually prosperous society but also have an obligation to participate in its construction.  If consultation is to be effective, it must promote the participation of the people in determining the direction of their communities—whether in analyzing specific problems, attaining higher degrees of understanding on a given issue, exploring possible courses of action, or making collective decisions.  Facilitating the genuine participation of those traditionally excluded from consultative processes, including the poor, is of the utmost concern.

A unifying framework

For progress on the international stage to be sustainable, it must take place within a framework that promotes the attainment of progressively higher degrees of unity of vision and action among its participants.  Each forward step—far from representing a momentary triumph of a single person or faction in an environment of competition—becomes part of a collective process of learning by which international institutions, states and civil society advance together in understanding.

In such a framework, ideas and suggestions do not belong to a single person or entity.  Nor does their ultimate success or failure rest merely on the reputation, status, or influence of the individual or institution putting them forward.  Rather, proposals and insights belong to the group, which adopts, revises, or discards them as needed.

Frank and open discussion will often yield differing viewpoints, particularly given the diversity of culture, history, and experience represented on the international stage.  When approached constructively, this range of perspectives can reveal unexamined assumptions and bring to light new concepts and ideas. In this spirit, participants explore diverse viewpoints in a way that promotes higher levels of shared understanding and cultivates unity of thought and action within the group.

Consultation as described here, then, is an approach to deliberation that is unifying rather than divisive. It seeks not only to determine the reality of a given situation but to strengthen the bonds that unite the participants. At the international level, such an approach can assist states to work more effectively together for the common good, and to identify and address the weaknesses in the multilateral system which restrict progress.

*

We look to Rio+20 as the next step in an unfolding process by which the people of the world learn to reach solutions together. The bonds of affection, trust, and mutual care that bind individuals together are continually expanding to encompass an increasingly larger share of human society. The new ‘we’ is not an abstraction. It is an awareness that we must persistently challenge ourselves, our communities and social institutions to reassess and refine established patterns of thought and interaction in order to better shape the course of human development throughout the world.


[1] Over the last 40 years, the international community has articulated many ethical principles to achieve objectives and guide implementation in the area of sustainable development. These include, among others, the principles contained in the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development (1992) and those in Article 3 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (1992).

 

Combating intolerance, negative stereotyping, stigmatization, discrimination, incitement to violence and violence against persons, based on religion or belief

Combating intolerance, negative stereotyping, stigmatization, discrimination, incitement to violence and violence against persons, based on religion or belief

Contribution to the report of the Secretary-General to the General Assembly on “Combating intolerance, negative stereotyping, stigmatization, discrimination, incitement to violence and violence against persons, based on religion or belief”

Geneva—13 June 2012

The Baha'i International Community is pleased to provide the following information for the report of the Secretary-General to the General Assembly regarding GA resolution 66/167. 

We must state that, unfortunately, no steps have been taken by the Islamic Republic of Iran to combat intolerance, negative stereotyping, stigmatization, discrimination, incitement to violence, and violence against persons, based on religion or belief, as concerns members of non-recognized religious communities.  Religious freedom and pluralism continue to be restricted to the four religions recognized in Iran’s Constitution, i.e. Islam and the three recognized religious minorities:  Judaism, Christianity and Zoroastrianism.  Members of those four recognized religious communities are the only Iranian citizens permitted to manifest their religion and to contribute openly and on an equal footing to society. 

Members of other religious communities, in particular the Baha'is, are excluded from many sectors of society such as higher education, vocational training, all employment in the public sector, 25 trades from which they have been specifically banned, and all occupations that could allow them to earn more than a minimum wage.  Iran’s government has taken no measures to change long-standing policies that explicitly instruct public functionaries, in the conduct of their public duties, to discriminate against individuals who are members of the Baha'i community.  Not only does the government of Iran make no effort to counter religious profiling, its intelligence services systematically use religion as a criterion in conducting interrogations, searches, arrests and arbitrary detentions.

The Baha'i religious community in Iran is not permitted to have places of worship.  Its religious and historical sites of importance have been confiscated by the State, and many have been destroyed.  A large number of its cemeteries and gravesites have also been confiscated and desecrated, and individuals or groups who vandalize or damage Baha'i cemeteries act with total impunity in this country.

Attacks on the Baha'i Faith and its adherents regularly appear in Iranian State-controlled and State-sanctioned media (press, radio, TV, websites, etc.), as well as in pamphlets and tracts distributed in officially approved public exhibitions and events, and in government-sponsored seminars, conferences, workshops and symposia.  The vilification disseminated by these sources has been used by Iranian teachers, school management, other public officials, groups and individuals in thousands of incidents involving verbal (and sometimes also physical) abuse directed against Baha'i school children and students, military trainees, shop keepers and other identified members of the community.  Moreover, stigmatization and incitement to hatred promulgated by officials and members of the clergy underlie the on-going oppression against Baha'i citizens of Iran, creating a climate where human rights violations against them are condoned, tolerated or ignored. 

Further information on all these issues is provided below.

1. Legal structures “based on principles of Islam”

[1]

In Iran, State policies and practices single out adherents of the Baha'i Faith for repression and discriminatory treatment.  For decades, the Iranian government has been violating its obligations under international human rights law, as concerns members of the Baha'i community.  The official nature of this religious profiling and related discrimination and oppression has been clear since 1993, when the former UN Special Representative on Iran published a copy of a 1991 government memorandum defining Iran’s policy on “the Baha'i question".  Drafted by the Supreme Revolutionary Cultural Council and approved by the Supreme Leader (Ayatollah Ali Khamenei), the memorandum gave instructions to ensure that the "progress and development" of the Baha'i community "shall be blocked."[2]

As mentioned above, Iran’s Constitution recognizes only four religions and grants some rights and freedoms only to adherents of those faiths – not only all rights related to religious practice, but also, for example, freedom of association and peaceful assembly.  Officials inside Iran call the Baha'i Faith a “misguided [or perverse] sect”, but at the UN the government has used the term “illegal association” to define the status of this religious community.  Article 26 of Iran’s Constitution stipulates that: “Parties, associations, political groups and trade unions and Islamic or recognized religious minorities shall be free, provided they do not violate the principles of independence, liberty, national unity and Islamic standards and the foundation of the Islamic Republic.”  In other words, the right to organize and attend group meetings for religious, social, cultural or educational purposes is restricted to the three recognized religious minorities and to associations considered by the government to be in conformity with “Islamic standards”.  

In recent years, hundreds of Baha'is have been subjected to arrest and detention, searches of their homes and confiscation of personal belongings.  Officials have summoned many hundreds more for interrogation without detaining them, and thousands have been repeatedly intimidated, harassed and threatened.  Arbitrary detention is only one aspect of increased persecution over the past 10 years, but the figures are illustrative:  five Baha'is were in Iranian prisons in 2001, four in 2002-2003, and only two in early 2004.  Over 570 have been arrested since late 2004, however, and as of 7 June 2012, 105 members of this community were incarcerated in prisons and detention centres in Iran.

One emblematic case concerns the seven former leaders of the community, who were arrested in 2008.[3]  Subjected to intensive interrogation and ill-treatment while in custody, these seven Baha'is faced trial in 2010, and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has clearly stated that the judicial procedure in their cases did not meet due process and fair trial requirements.  There was no basis in fact to any of the accusations against them, but the court laid down sentences of 20 years in prison.  When an appeals court reduced their terms to 10 years, the original 20-year sentences were later reinstated.

2. Official discriminatory policies

2.1 Denial of access to employment

Discrimination against Baha'is in the area of employment is official policy in Iran.  Members of this community are banned from all work in the public sector and can be dismissed from private sector jobs solely on religious grounds, if their beliefs become known.  In 2007, a government bureau disseminated instructions to bar members of the “perverse Bahaist sect” from 25 trades (including many independent shops and businesses that Baha'is had opened because this was the only way they could earn a living) and more generally from any occupation that could allow them to earn more than a minimum wage.[4]  Following the government’s orders, public officials in over 40 cities and towns have taken measures to shut down Baha'i-owned shops, businesses and factories.  In rural areas, they have forced Baha'i farmers to stop production, destroyed their crops and slaughtered livestock.  

Members of this community are also deprived of their rightfully earned pensions.  Court verdicts (copies of which have been submitted to UN Special Procedures) have stated that:  “payment of pension to those individuals connected with the baha’i sect is illegal”.

2.2 Denial of the right to education

In over 250 reported incidents since 2007, teachers or school administrators insulted, derided or intimidated Baha'i children and adolescents in primary, middle and high schools throughout Iran.  Many were threatened with expulsion or forced to change schools.  In November 2011, when the Ministry of Education called for all Baha'i pupils to be identified, its directive even included pre-schoolers:  children in kindergarten. 

Identified Baha'is are then denied access to higher education.  The official guide to participating in the 2012 national university entrance exam stipulates as a requirement:  “Belief in Islam or in one of the religions specified in the Constitution…  (Judaism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism).”  In 2006, a letter from the Central Security Office of Iran’s Ministry of Science, Research and Technology instructed 81 universities to expel any student discovered to be a Baha'i, either at enrolment or during his/her studies.[5]  The official nature of the policy has been clear since 1993, as the government’s memorandum on “the Baha'i question” mentioned in section 1, above, included the instruction:

(…)   2.  They must be expelled from universities, either in the admission process or during the course of their studies, once it becomes known that they are Baha'is.  (…)

Recent court rulings have referred to this prescript, still in effect today.  Every year, hundreds of qualified young Baha'is are prevented from entering public and private universities and vocational training institutes in Iran.  Nearly all those who pass the entrance exams and obtain admission are blocked during enrolment or expelled later, when their religious affiliation becomes known.  All the students who lodged appeals had their cases rejected:  not a single university expulsion case has been decided in favour of a Baha'i.

In fact, this systematic exclusion dates from shortly after the 1979 Islamic Revolution:  all Baha'i students enrolled at the time were expelled from university; and Baha'i professors and lecturers were summarily dismissed.  To offset the effects, the community made informal arrangements to offer university-level courses to Baha'i students in Iran, through distance learning and in private homes or premises, taught by Baha'i professors who had been fired.  This peaceful, purely educational initiative is known as the Baha'i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE).  The authorities repeatedly attempted to shut it down, most notably in 1998, 2001, 2003, and again last year. 

In May/June 2011, intelligence officers acted simultaneously against Baha'is engaged in BIHE courses throughout the country.  Forty households were subjected to extensive searches, with confiscations of personal belongings and computers, and 19 Baha'is were arrested.  Six of the educators are now serving four to five-year prison sentences, simply because they were providing standard university-level courses to students who had been denied all other access to higher education.  During interrogations, Iran’s intelligence services expressed the government’s determination to bring the courses to a complete stop.  Its concerted action evidences once again the policy denying access to university and vocational training – in any form, from any source – to members of the non-recognized Baha'i religious minority. 

2.3 Denial of rights related to housing, gravesites and buildings of sacred significance

In documented cases since 1979, officials have abusively confiscated over 2,000 properties owned by Baha'is:  houses and apartments, offices and shops, factories, farms and land.  Some cases were taken to court, but the judgements confirmed that the authorities consider the Baha'i Faith as an illegal movement and legitimise human rights violations against its adherents.  Some verdicts declared that the confiscation of property from members of “the evil sect of the Baha’i” is legally and religiously justifiable.

Baha'i cemeteries, holy places, historical sites, administrative centres and other assets were seized shortly after the Islamic Revolution.  No community properties were returned, and many were destroyed.  Seizure of cemeteries had very painful consequences, as in return many Baha'is were allotted areas of wasteland and not allowed to mark the graves of their loved ones.  In some cities, members of this community no longer receive permission for burials at all.  And there have been severe attacks, often repeated, against Baha'i cemeteries in over 25 different localities since 2005.  The individuals responsible for these and other attacks against Baha'is act with total impunity in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

3. Incitement to hatred, intolerance and discrimination

Some Iranian officials and members of the clergy openly advocate religious hatred against the Baha'i Faith and its adherents, constituting incitement to violence and hostility, and they do so with impunity.  National and provincial budgets include allocations for “educational” programmes to “confront” the Baha'i Faith, and there are official organs dedicated to that purpose.  Articles, TV and radio programmes on State-run and government-affiliated media, and official or State-condoned pamphlets, posters and exhibitions regularly vilify the Baha'is and their beliefs.  Some contain false allegations that distort history and grossly malign Baha'i moral principles, using malicious or vile language and innuendo.  In others, Baha'is are falsely accused of espionage, conspiracy, instigating sedition and other illegal, anti-regime activities that threaten national security.  A publication documenting these facts can be accessed online at:

Inciting Hatred

Stigmatization and negative stereotyping have incited violence against Baha'is, as well as increased harassment and intimidation.  The worst cases in recent years included death threats, physical assault or eviction.  Baha'i homes, vehicles, farms, orchards, shops and workplaces have been badly damaged and defaced with graffiti; some were destroyed.  Series of incidents involving arson have targeted Baha'is in the same towns.  And Baha'is throughout Iran receive threatening telephone calls, text messages and anonymous letters, containing the malicious words and phrases published by media linked to the government.  

In addition, the authorities seem determined to prevent Baha'is from contributing to the culture and development of society in Iran.  Members of this religious community have long been denied access to all means of communication with the public.  The government blocks Baha'i websites, whether originating from within or outside Iran; officials deny Baha'is access to printing or photocopying; and Baha'i books, leaflets and materials are systematically confiscated during house searches, along with photocopiers, computers and printers.  This makes it difficult for the community’s members to produce materials for their own use and also to provide accurate information in response to the lies propagated about them.  Even worse:  as it is forbidden for Baha'is to associate with Muslims, they cannot offer assistance to their friends and neighbours or even express good will without the risk of being accused of acting “against the regime".

Iranian Baha'is deeply love their homeland, despite all the suffering they have endured.  Regardless of the restrictions imposed on them, they fulfil their spiritual and social responsibilities.  Through participation in constructive discourse with neighbours, co-workers, friends and acquaintances, they nonetheless continue to contribute to the advancement of their nation and its people. 


[1] In its national report for the UPR in 2010, the Islamic Republic of Iran declared:

130. Iran, like other Islamic countries, has faced certain problems in practicing some international standards of human rights. This matter needs to be duly understood by the international community that due to its legal structures which are based on principles of Islam, commitment of its authorities to these principles, and true demands by the people, Islamic Republic of Iran considers itself obliged to adhere to laws of Islamic Sharia. (…)

[2] The text of the government memorandum can be accessed through the following links: 
Persian original:  http://news.bahai.org/documentlibrary/575/5_TheISRCCdocument.pdf
English translation:  http://news.bahai.org/documentlibrary/575/5_TheISRCCdocument_en.pdf

[3] The names of the seven Baha'i leaders are:  Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm.  Their cases are the object of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention’s Opinion No. 34/2008. 

[4] Copies of this letter (in Persian original and English translation) are on pages 86-87 of The Baha'i Question – Cultural Cleansing in Iran, which can be downloaded at: http://news.bahai.org/human-rights/iran/the-bahai-question.html or obtained in a bound edition from Baha'i International Community representatives. 

 

Situation of the Baha'is in the Islamic Republic of Iran

Situation of the Baha'is in the Islamic Republic of Iran

UN Human Rights Council – 19th session

Geneva—14 March 2012

Just a few days ago, the Baha’i International Community obtained a confidential document: a directive issued in November last year by the Ministry of Education’s Board in a city in Tehran Province, calling for all Baha'i children to be identified, and explicitly including pre-schoolers:  children in kindergarten.  It is understood that this is not an isolated case but reflects a general order issued by the Ministry of Education.

In March 2006, Ms. Asma Jahangir, then Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, publicly expressed her grave concern about a confidential document that she had obtained at the time.  In that letter, the Head of Iran’s Armed Forces told the Ministry of Information, Revolutionary Guard, Basij, Police, Army and others, that “according to the instructions of the  Supreme Leader” (Ayatollah Khamenei), they must identify all of the Baha’is in Iran.  Since then, violations against the members of this religious community have drastically increased.  Today the rights of tens of thousands of Baha'is are violated solely because of their religious beliefs.  More than 100 Baha'is are in prison.  Several hundred more are awaiting the outcome of the legal proceedings against them.  The seven former leaders of the community are serving the longest sentences currently imposed on prisoners of conscience in Iran:  20 years each.

The report to this session by the Special Rapporteur on Iran makes it clear that Baha'is have no rights in that country.  The government subjects them to arbitrary detention, violence, prolonged solitary confinement (qualified by the Special Rapporteur as a form of torture).  Procedures at their trials violate Iran’s own laws; courageous Muslim lawyers are condemned for defending them; their homes and property are confiscated; they are denied employment and access to university… and Baha'i educators who try to provide alternative higher education for Baha'i students, in the privacy of their own homes, are also put behind bars.

Now the government is trying to identify their children, in kindergarten.  Surely we must all ask: what for?  The government is well aware that Baha'is are not a threat, that schoolchildren are not a threat.  So the question is:  In the face of the Iranian government’s policy to eliminate the Baha'i community as a viable entity in that country, what is the international community going to do to protect the Baha'is of Iran?

 

Interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran

Interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran

UN Human Rights Council – 19th session

Geneva—12 March 2012

Dr. Shaheed,

The Baha'i International Community fully concurs with your analysis of – quoting from your report – “the systemic and systematic persecution of members of unrecognized religious communities, particularly the Baha'i community, in violation of international conventions” [unquote].

We also agree with your presentation of the underlying obstacles, including elements of the legal framework and lack of adherence to the rule of law – none of which are being addressed by the government.  As you clearly state, impunity continues to prevail in Iran, and certain individuals are exempted from laws and regulations meant to restrain the abuse of power.

In Iran, impunity protects those who target anyone that government officials falsely accuse of acting against Islam and the Islamic Republic.   Your report also mentions an intensive defamation campaign intended to incite hatred and discrimination against the Baha'is of Iran.  It was orchestrated by government-controlled and -sanctioned media while, at the same time, hundreds of officials went to enormous lengths to identify every single Baha'i in the country.  Combined with impunity, these concerted efforts generated a dramatic increase in human rights abuses:  multiple violations, across the entire spectrum of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, specifically directed against members of this community, literally from kindergarten to the grave.

So, our question to you is:

  • Given Iran’s refusal to engage in any substantive manner with UN human rights mechanisms, how should the international community respond?
  • What can it do when a government like Iran refuses to recognize a community’s right to exist?
  • How can the international community protect people who belong to the most vulnerable minorities?

The empowerment of rural women and their role in poverty and hunger eradication, development and current challenges

The empowerment of rural women and their role in poverty and hunger eradication, development and current challenges

Baha'i International Community’s Contribution to the 56th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women

New York—27 February 2012

The critical role of women in advancing agricultural and rural development, and in ensuring food security, has been widely acknowledged. Member States have committed to providing rural women with equal access to productive resources and to markets—recognizing their agency in rural and agricultural development. Despite progress made, rural women persist with low levels of income, sparse access to education and health services, limited job security as well as limited land and inheritance rights. Again and again, their needs as well as their contributions are relegated to the margins of policy development and budgetary considerations. In addition to the entrenched patterns of discrimination, unsustainable development practices, climate change, and violence against women intensify the burden placed on women and their families.

When viewed in the broader context, the situation of rural women is but one of the symptoms of a social order characterized by inequity, violence and insecurity. As such, the vision of women’s empowerment must go beyond making room for women to participate in society within the present social order, as this will not suffice to end the marginalization of rural populations and the entrenched patterns of discrimination against women. The empowerment of women requires profound changes in the minds and hearts of people and in the very structures of society. It begins with the understanding that the equality of women and men is more than a desired condition to be achieved for the common good; it is a dimension of human reality. In those aspects that make human beings human, women and men are fundamentally equal. The goal at hand, then, is not only the empowerment of women for the advancement of agriculture and rural life; it is the full engagement of women with men in the construction of a new social order. Though marginalized by present-day economic and development frameworks, women are neither victims nor simply under-resourced members of society. In fact, they represent the greatest source of untapped potential in the global effort to eradicate poverty and advance collective prosperity.

How, then, can we conceive of empowerment in a way that will begin to transform the current economic order and the condition of its rural women? We offer three considerations which address access to knowledge, the nature of full participation, and the importance of exploring diverse economic arrangements.

First, access to knowledge is the right of every human being. Yet, the patterns of knowledge generation and diffusion in the current world order divide the world into producers and users of knowledge. This has deep implications for the quality and legitimacy of education, technology, decision-making and governance. For example, despite the fact that most agricultural work in developing countries is carried out by low-income women, the primary shapers and users of agricultural technologies have been men. A key challenge is how to strengthen women’s capacities to identify technological needs, and to create and adapt technologies in light of social needs and resource constraints. Reforming the present flow of knowledge—from ‘North’ to ‘South’; from urban to rural; from men to women—will free development from narrowly conceived conceptions of ‘modernization.’

Second, access to knowledge promotes meaningful and informed participation in decision-making at the family, community and higher levels of social administration. Thus, while social action may involve the provision of goods and services in some form, its primary concern must be to build capacity within a given population to participate in creating a better world. It is imperative, then, that the educational process associated with such capacity building assist rural women and girls to see themselves as active agents of their own learning, as the driving force of an ongoing effort to apply knowledge to improve their own material and spiritual condition and to contribute to the betterment of their communities.

Third, the increased flows of goods, services, capital and labor within existing structures and processes benefit only a very few at the expense of many. This has given rise to the impoverishment of rural communities, the exploitation of vulnerable populations—women and children in particular—and the devastation of the environment. Such economic pressures have also led to the disappearance of diversified, ecologically sustainable small-scale agriculture, mostly found in rural areas, greatly impacting women who carry out the bulk of the work. Local economies that have historically valued collective well-being over competition and individual have grown increasingly insecure. To note these realities is not to present a naïve idea of local economies but rather to stress that diverse economic arrangements need to be given space to develop.

This document has highlighted just three challenges that need to be addressed in the effort to empower rural women. While many more challenges remain, the Baha'i International Community hopes that exploration of these issues can further the discourse on the role of rural women in advancing their own development and that of their communities. Moreover, it is hoped that such exploration will help to link these issues to the broader aim of promoting rural women’s full engagement—shoulder to shoulder with men—in the construction of a more just social order.

[Official UN Statement]

Youth and Adolescents Education in Service of Community

Youth and Adolescents Education in Service of Community

Baha'i International Community’s Contribution to the 45th Session of the UN Commission on Population and Development

New York—16 February 2012

The Baha'i International Community welcomes the opportunity to offer its contribution to the deliberations of the 45th Session of the UN Commission on Population and Development on the theme of ‘youth and adolescents.’ We are pleased that the Commission has chosen to focus on this pivotal period of human development, whose present cohort comprises no less than 1 billion people between the ages of 10 and 19 [i]. This is a critical period of personal change during which young people begin to consciously explore and apply their knowledge, values and beliefs about individual and collective life. During this time, they take on new responsibilities – providing care at home, contributing to the family income, and becoming protagonists of change in their communities and nations. By the end of this period, many have taken on the full responsibilities of adults.

The projected growth of the world’s population presents not only challenges but also manifold opportunities for the governments and nations of the world. In 56 countries, half of the population is below the age of 20 [ii]. Present-day statistics paint a bleak picture of this group: half live in poverty; a quarter survive on less than the equivalent of one dollar a day. In 2009, 67 million primary school aged children and 72 million children of lower secondary school age were not in formal education—the majority of them girls.[iii] While the challenges are daunting, young people are not victims in need of others to solve their problems. Rather, this age group represents a tremendous source of intellectual and social potential waiting to be developed and channeled towards socially constructive ends.

The future of today’s society will depend to a great extent on the manner in which educational programs and methods are designed to release the latent potential of youth and prepare them for the world they will inherit. The connection between education and individual and collective well-being is well established and affirmed in the ICPD Programme of Action [iv] as well as the World Program of Action for Youth [v]. Our contribution to this Session of the Commission focuses on a particular dimension of education, namely education in service of community, which, in our experience, is central to the transformation of the individual and community life. It is well known that the forces that influence the intellectual and emotional development of a child are not confined to the classroom. The forces acting on youth through the media, technology, family, peers, the wider community and other social institutions convey messages that may be reinforcing in some respects and contradictory in others, which contributes to confusion for many youth – about identity, moral purpose and social reality. As such, formal education needs to go beyond the exclusive aim of helping young people to secure gainful employment. Educational processes should assist youth to recognize and express their potentialities while developing in them the capacity to contribute to the spiritual and material prosperity of their communities. Indeed, one cannot fully develop one’s talents and capabilities in isolation from others.

The concept of a two-fold moral purpose—to develop one’s inherent potentialities and to contribute to the transformation of society—provides an important axis of the educational process. As one examines the influences shaping the minds of youth and adolescents, it becomes readily apparent that many forces breed passivity and a desire to be entertained. Such forces contribute to the formation of entire generations willing to be led by those who skillfully appeal to superficial emotions. Many educational programs perceive young people as mere receptacles of information. To challenge these trends, the worldwide Baha'i community has endeavored to develop a culture which promotes an independent way of thinking, studying and acting, in which the students see themselves as united by a desire to work towards the common good, supporting one another and advancing together, respectful of the knowledge that each one possesses.

Though conditions vary greatly from country to country and from community to community—whether rural or urban, materially rich or poor, peaceful or insecure—the centrality of knowledge to the flourishing of youth and adolescents remains unchanged. Access to knowledge is the right of every human being. The responsibility to generate new knowledge and apply it in socially beneficial ways rests on the shoulders of every young person. In the same way, the creation of an environment conducive to this process is a duty of every government. Without access to knowledge, the meaningful participation of youth in the affairs of their communities is not possible. The primary focus of educational processes, then, must be to build the capacity within young people to participate fully as protagonists of social progress.

Meaningful participation also takes the form of safe and productive employment. Education that does not instill in youth an awareness of their inherent potentialities, their role as active citizens, and the needs of their community, further weakens young people’s prospects for employment. This in turn fuels the exodus of educated youth from rural to urban areas, and from non-industrialized to industrialized nations. Young people, though often perceived as simply the beneficiaries of education, must be involved in the development of educational systems, thereby helping to align the content and methodology of educational processes with the needs and aspirations of their communities. This urgent need is further underscored by the rapid growth rates of the youth and adolescent population in some parts of the world.

In order for youth to play their important role, the inequities of girls’ access to quality education must be addressed. As has been repeatedly affirmed, the education of girls has a ‘multiplier effect’—it results in reduced chances of early marriage, greater likelihood of girls’ informed and active role in family planning, reduced infant and maternal mortality, enhanced participation of girls in social, economic and political decision-making, and the promotion of economic prosperity. This is particularly urgent in parts of the world where adolescent girls are married and begin to bear children. The need to extend educational opportunities to girls rests on the understanding that the equality of men and women, boys and girls is a fundamental truth about human reality and not just a desirable condition to be achieved for the good of society. Their full participation in the arenas of law, politics, science and technology, commerce, and religion, to name but a few, are needed to forge a social order enlightened by the contributions and wisdom of fully half of the world’s population. As women are one of the most powerful influences on the health and well-being of their children, deficiencies in the mother’s education, will, in most cases, multiply throughout succeeding generations. Governments, then, must follow through on their commitments to prohibit the unjust practices of infanticide, prenatal sex selection, female genital mutilation, trafficking of girl children and use of girls in prostitution and pornography, and to enforce laws to ensure that marriage is entered into only with the free and full consent of both spouses. The overarching objective must be to address the root causes of gender bias so that all people can play their rightful role in the transformation of society.

The investments that governments make in the education and health of their youth and adolescents represent no less than an investment in the stability, security and prosperity of the nation itself. Educational approaches and methods, guided by the needs and aspirations of respective communities, supported by families and social institutions, and inspired by the awareness of inestimable potential latent in every child, will awaken youth and adolescents not only to their own intellectual capabilities but also to their role as protagonists of change in their communities and in the world.

[i] World Population Foundation. Young People. http://www.wpf.org/reproductive_rights_article/facts.

[ii] U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Population Division. World Population Ageing 2009. (ST/ESA/SER.A/295). New York, 2010. In 47 countries, 40-50% of the population is between the ages of 0 and 14. (U.S. Global Health Policy. Population Under Age 15 (percent). 2011.http://www.globalhealthfacts.org/data/topic/map.aspx?ind=82#table. Accessed 9 January 2011.)

[iii] UNICEF and UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Global Initiative on Out-of-School Children.www.uis.unesco.org/Education/Documents/OOSCI_Flyer_Aug2011.pdf. August 2011. (It is estimated that around 10 million children in sub-Saharan Africa drop out of primary school every year.)

[iv] The ICPD (International Conference on Population and Development) Programme of Action states that, “The relationship between education and demographic and social changes is one of interdependence. There is a close and complex relationship among education, marriage age, fertility, mortality, mobility and activity. The increase in the education of women and girls contributes to greater empowerment of women, to a postponement of the age of marriage and to a reduction in the size of families. When mothers are better educated, their children's survival rate tends to increase. Broader access to education is also a factor in internal migration and the composition of the working population. […] Education is also a means to enable the individual to gain access to knowledge, which is a precondition for coping, by anyone wishing to do so, with today's complex world. The reduction of fertility, morbidity and mortality rates, the empowerment of women, the improvement in the quality of the working population and the promotion of genuine democracy are largely assisted by progress in education.

[v] General Assembly. 91st Plenary Meeting. World Program on Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond. (A/RES/50/81). 14 December 1995.

Initial considerations regarding the elimination of the extremes of poverty and wealth

Initial considerations regarding the elimination of the extremes of poverty and wealth

Baha'i International Community’s contribution to the 50th Session of the United Nations Commission on Social Development

—1 February 2012

Poverty eradication programs have generally focused on the creation of material wealth. While these measures have improved living standards in some parts of the world, inequality remains widespread. In its 2005 Report on the World Social Situation[1], the United Nations highlighted the growing chasm between formal and informal economies, the widening gap between skilled and unskilled workers, and the growing disparities in health, education as well as in opportunities for social, economic and political participation. It has been well documented that the focus on growth and income generation has not necessarily translated into significant social improvements, and that growing inequality has rendered the global community increasingly unstable and insecure.

The Baha'i International Community wishes to contribute to the Commission’s discussion of poverty eradication by considering the related phenomena of the extremes of poverty and wealth. While the goal of poverty eradication is widely endorsed, the notion of eliminating extremes of wealth is challenging to many. Some fear that it could be used to undermine the market economy, to stifle entrepreneurship, or to impose income equalization measures. This is not what we mean. To be sure, material wealth is of critical importance to the achievement of individual and collective goals; by the same token, a strong economy is a key component of a vibrant social order. We propose that recognition of the problem of the extremes of poverty and wealth concerns itself, in essence, with the nature of relationships that bind individuals, communities and nations. Today, most of the world’s people live in societies characterized by relationships of dominance—whether of one nation over another, one race by another, one social class by another, one religious or ethnic group by another, or one sex by another. In this context, a discourse on the elimination of the extremes of poverty and wealth presumes that societies cannot flourish in an environment that fuels inequitable access to resources, to knowledge, and to meaningful participation in the life of society.

In this contribution, we briefly reflect on the manner in which the following aspects of society contribute to these extremes: a materialistic worldview, assumptions about human nature, the means of generating wealth, and access to knowledge. We propose an alternative set of assumptions and consider how these might advance a more equitable economic environment.

The dominant model of development depends on a society of vigorous consumers of material goods. Endlessly rising levels of consumption are cast as indicators of progress and prosperity. This materialistic worldview, which underpins much of modern economic thinking, reduces concepts of value, human purpose and human interactions to the self-interested pursuit of material wealth. The inevitable result is an unfettered cultivation of needs and wants which has led to a system dependent on excessive consumption by the few, while reinforcing exclusion and poverty for the many.

As most would acknowledge, however, the materialistic worldview does not capture the totality of human experience. This includes expressions of love and self-sacrifice, the quest for knowledge and justice, attraction to beauty and to truth, the search for meaning and purpose, to name but a few.  In fact, the progress and vitality of the social order requires a coherent relationship between the material and spiritual dimensions of human life. Within such an order, economic arrangements support the development of just and peaceful human relations and presume that every individual has a contribution to make to the betterment of society.

Consider that nearly 800 million adults cannot read or write[2]; that two and a half billion people lack basic sanitation; that nearly half of the world’s children live in poverty. At the other extreme, a mere handful of individuals[3] controls 7% of the world’s GDP. [4] We have an economic system that generates extreme inequality. Many assume that such inequality, while undesirable, is necessary for the generation of wealth. If the process by which wealth is accumulated is characterized by the oppression and domination of others, how, in such an environment, can we hope to mobilize the material, intellectual, and moral resources needed to eradicate poverty?

Many would acknowledge that the legitimacy of wealth depends on how it is acquired and how it is expended. Wealth is commendable to the highest degree if it is acquired through earnest effort and diligent work, if the measures to generate that wealth serve to enrich society as a whole, and if the wealth obtained through those measures is expended to promote knowledge, education, industry, and, in general, to advance human civilization.

The principle of justice can be expressed on different levels related to the process of the acquisition of wealth. Employers and their employees, for example, are bound to the laws and conventions that regulate their work. Each is expected to carry out his or her responsibilities with honesty and integrity. At another level, we can consider whether the measures generating the wealth are serving to enrich society and to promote its well-being. The various approaches to obtaining wealth must enter into the discourse on poverty eradication, so that measures which involve the exploitation of others, the monopolization and manipulation of markets, and the production of goods that promote violence and tear at the social fabric can be fully explored and scrutinized by the generality of the people.[5]

Alongside this discourse, the eradication of the extremes of poverty and wealth will require no less than a knowledge revolution. Such a revolution will need to redefine the role of every individual, community and nation in the generation and application of knowledge. It will need to acknowledge both science and religion as two complementary systems of knowledge, which throughout history have made possible the investigation of reality and the advancement of civilization. As these processes unfold, they will help to transform the quality and legitimacy of education, of science and technology, as well as patterns of consumption and production. The masses of the world’s people cannot continue to be regarded only as consumers and end-users of technology originating in industrial countries. Such an orientation suffocates the necessary levels of human enterprise and creativity needed to address today’s pressing challenges. The development of capacity to identify technological need, to innovate, and to adapt existing technologies is vital. If successfully developed, such capacity would serve to break the unbalanced flow of knowledge from North to South, from urban to rural, and from men to women. It would help to expand the concept of ‘modern’ technology to one characterized by locally defined needs and by priorities that take into account a community’s material and spiritual well-being.

As expressed in the introduction to this document, the eradication of poverty cannot be conceived in terms of improving the material wealth of the poor alone. It is a larger undertaking rooted in relationships that define the interactions between individuals, communities and nations. We invite others actively working to establish a more just and equitable social and economic order to engage with us in dialogue about these underlying issues in order to learn from each other and to collectively advance efforts towards these ends. We conclude with a number of questions for your consideration:

What is the purpose of an economy? What assumptions about human nature underlie our understanding of the purpose of an economy? How do we understand the concept of wealth?

In what ways do the extremes of poverty and wealth stifle development, empowerment and healthy relationships? What kinds of identities are formed with the existence of these two extremes (e.g. dependent, self-righteous, consumer, producer, etc.)? How do these identities perpetuate inequality?

What is the role of knowledge—derived from both science and religion—in transforming our economic structures and processes?

How can we conceptualize the nature and purpose of work, wealth, and economic empowerment beyond notions of utility maximization on the part of self-interested individuals?

What are the roles of the individual, the community, the corporate sector and elected leaders vis-à-vis the elimination of the extremes of poverty and wealth? What does this look like in practice?

What are the entry points for making changes in the economy? What motivates individuals, communities, corporations and governments to reform economic structures and processes? From where do they derive their purpose and commitment?

What widely held conceptions or beliefs hinder our ability to transform the economic systems we have today? How can these be overcome?

 

 

[1] U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs. The Inequality Predicament: Report on the World Social Situation 2005. New York, 2005.

[2] UIS Fact Sheet, September 2010, No. 3, http://www.uis.unesco.org/FactSheets/Documents/Fact_Sheet_2010_Lit_EN.pdf

[3] Approximately 500 billionaires.  Anup Shah, Poverty Facts and Stats (10 September 2010). Global Issues: Social, Political and Environmental Issues that Affect Us All, http://www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-facts-and-stats.

[4] Anup Shah, Poverty Facts and Stats (10 September 2010). Ibid.

[5] For example, we can ask:  Is the relationship between wages and the cost of living just and equitable? What kind of wealth-generating measures could serve to enrich the generality of people rather than a select few?

 

Oral statement to the 18th session of the UN Human Rights Council

Oral statement to the 18th session of the UN Human Rights Council

Situation of the Baha'is in Iran – item 4

Geneva—23 September 2011

September is the time of year when students in the northern hemisphere get ready for their academic year to begin, holding hopes for a bright future.

Sadly, in Iran so many young people are deprived of this education simply because they hold an opinion or a belief that differs from those of the few men in power.  They are student activists; they are members of ethnic minorities; they are Baha'is.

For Baha'i youth, this has been going on for nearly 30 years.  The most recent injustice concerns a young woman, Shohreh Rowhani, who obtained a top ranking in the 2011 national university entrance exam, only to be turned away.  The pretext was that her file was “incomplete” – a euphemism for being a Baha'i.

The recent crackdown on the Baha'i Institute of Higher Education, a grassroots endeavour that stemmed from this injustice and was trying to alleviate the failure of the State to act fairly towards its citizens, is proof – if yet another proof is needed – that, despite all their claims (whether at the Human Rights Council, at UNESCO or on State television), the Iranian government aims at turning the entire Baha’i community of its country into an impoverished and marginalized group.

The Baha'is will not allow this to happen.  They have not allowed it for the past 30 years – always in a peaceful, law abiding manner.

Today, nearly 100 Baha'is are in prison because of their beliefs.  Among prisoners of conscience in Iran, the eight longest sentences are being served by Baha'is.  Scores are detained and interrogated, and the entire Baha'i community is deprived of all basic rights.  None are spared, not even the dead whose resting places are desecrated, not even the little girl, a six year old child, whose hand is burnt in punishment by her ethics teacher, simply because she is a Baha'i.  Despite all this, the Baha'is of Iran are relentless in their quest for a better Iran for all Iranians, regardless of sex, age, class, ethnicity and belief.

Baha'is hope, as all Iranians do, that the international community will also be relentless in telling the government of Iran that its crimes do not go unnoticed and its lies are now exposed, and in demanding that Iran fulfils its international human rights obligations.

Situation of the Baha'is in Iran – item 4

Situation of the Baha'is in Iran – item 4

Oral statement to the 17th session of the UN Human Rights Council

Geneva—15 June 2011

The government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has made repeated claims about its commitment to human rights.  Concerning the Baha'is, Mr. Mohammad Javad Larijani has stated publicly several times that “no Baha'i in Iran is persecuted for his or her beliefs”.  Regrettably, the facts prove just the opposite.

One of many striking examples:  If Baha'is are not persecuted for their beliefs then why does the government relentlessly deny them access to higher education?

From the time of the Islamic Revolution in 1979 until 2003—almost 25 years—Baha'is could not enter university because the registration form for the national entrance exam required a declaration of religion.  Their hopes were raised when, in response to international pressure, the government announced that this would be removed.

But Baha'is who took and passed the exam found that they were falsely declared to be Muslims on their student cards.  And when this hurdle was resolved by another governmental twist, a token number who were able to enrol started to be expelled, one by one, some just before their final exams.  Why?  Because the government had never had any intention of changing its policy prohibiting Baha'is from entering the nation’s institutions of higher learning.  The evidence of this is plainly revealed in a secret letter issued in 2006, by the Ministry that oversees higher educational institutions, instructing 81 universities to expel any student identified as a Baha'i.

Many of those expelled did not give up, taking their cases to court, but even when they found a fair and sympathetic judge, he had to admit that his hands were tied because of the 1991 memorandum on the Baha'i question, endorsed by the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, which stipulates that known Baha'is must be barred from higher education.

Under these circumstances, Baha'i volunteers offered university-level courses for other Baha'is in the privacy of their own homes – a quiet, peaceful initiative called the Baha'i Institute for Higher Education.  Over the past 20 years, the government has tried three times to stop this effort.  Three weeks ago, intelligence agents raided 40 Baha'i homes and arrested 18 of the volunteers in a concerted effort to crush their initiative – proving beyond any doubt that the government is determined to deny higher education (in any form, from any source) to all known Baha'is in Iran.  The government flouts the international covenants to which it is a signatory and violates the laws of its own land and  then shamelessly tries to garner support for its stance and to hide the true motive behind its actions under a peremptory statement that the Baha'i Institute for Higher Education is “illegal”.  Where is the logic here?  How can Iran possibly deny that it persecutes the Baha'is?  If ever there were a case of actions speaking louder than words, this surely is it.

 

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