The Baha'i International Community (BIC) welcomes this week’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the United Nations Human Rights Council, in Geneva, at which Egyptian authorities were held accountable for the systematic abuse of the rights of religious and other minorities in Egypt, which includes the Egyptian Baha'i community.

In a press release dated 19 November 2024, the BIC detailed the profound impact of this decades-long persecution on the Egyptian Baha'i community. These issues include faith-based discrimination impacting the right to citizenship and residency, tearing families apart and leading to forced separations; refusal to recognize Baha'i marriages, creating significant civil challenges; denial of the Baha'i community’s fundamental right to freely practice their faith; denial of approval for land for a cemetery; discrimination that prevents Baha'is from accessing educational and professional opportunities; and pressure on Egyptians to dissociate from Baha'i friends and colleagues, exacerbating social and economic instability within the community.

The Egyptian government has failed to act on recommendations from its previous UPR cycle, four years ago, regarding freedom of religion and belief and the rights of the Baha'is. Persecution of Baha'is has not only persisted but worsened, threatening the safety of the community, depriving its members of basic civil rights, and undermining the principles of non-discrimination, equality and human dignity enshrined in international law.

In this latest UPR review, several UN Member States once again urged the Egyptian authorities to respect the right to freedom of religion or belief for its citizens.

“For decades, in the eyes of the Egyptian state, the Baha’is remain unrecognized, despite what is stated in the constitution, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which are binding to Egypt,” said Amr Magdi of Human Rights Watch, adding that “Baha'is in Egypt are not only deprived from practicing their religion, from burying their relatives and marrying according to their religion—they are deprived from the mere recognition that they exist.”

“Freeing the Baha’is to live their lives with full citizenship rights would better align Egypt with the positive developments taking place more generally across the Arab region,” said Dr Saba Haddad, BIC Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, “where many countries are moving towards promoting the values of coexistence and citizenship, taking genuine and positive steps that deserve praise and appreciation.”

“Egypt's leading regional role means it should be leading by example in human rights: by cleansing itself of the stain of its persecution of the Egyptian Baha'i community,” Dr. Haddad added. “Yet we see several entities in the Egyptian government coordinating to make the living of a normal life impossible for Baha’is in the country by systematically depriving them of their basic civil rights.”

With Egypt’s UPR session now completed, and the Egyptian government expected to respond to the recommendations of the Member States in March 2025, the Baha'i International Community calls on Egyptian authorities to end discrimination and persecution against Egyptian Baha’is by government ministries and security agencies.

“The Egyptian Baha’i community has been an integral component of the fabric of Egyptian society for over 150 years and deserves to be given the same rights afforded to all Egyptian citizens. Now is the time for the government to act,” Dr Haddad said.

For more information please contact

• Bani Dugal, Principal Representative, New York, [email protected], +19143293020 (English)

• Saba Haddad, Representative, Geneva, [email protected], +41783082219 (English & Arabic)