The Baha'i International Community (BIC) urges United Nations Member States to hold Egypt accountable for its systematic persecution of the Egyptian Baha'i community at the forthcoming Universal Periodic Review (UPR) session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, scheduled for 28 January.

The Egyptian government has failed to act on recommendations from its previous UPR cycle, four years ago, regarding freedom of religion and the rights of the Baha'is. Instead, the state’s 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.

The upcoming UPR, during which Egypt will be reviewed, presents a critical opportunity for Member States to scrutinize Egypt’s human rights record and call for an end to discriminatory practices targeting the Egyptian Baha'i community by making direct and clear recommendations on this matter.

The Baha’i community in Egypt dates back to 1868. Egyptian Baha’is are loyal citizens whose aim is to live in their country peacefully, as full citizens, serving their country and fellow Egyptians.

“Numerous Egyptian institutions are acting in concert to make the existence of the Baha’is in normal life untenable, both individually and as a community, not least by preventing them from accessing their basic civil rights in the country,” said Saba Haddad, BIC Representative to the United Nations in Geneva.

“Targeting Baha’is and the Baha’i community in this way denies Baha’is their fundamental human rights. It also threatens their freedom of religion, the practice of their Faith's tenets, and the right to live a normal, dignified life with their families and to earn a livelihood on an equal basis to others.”

“For many years the Baha’i community in Egypt, as well as the Baha’i International Community, have reached out to Egyptian authorities to ensure that the rights of Egyptian Baha’is are restored and to address any possible misunderstandings,” Dr. Haddad added. “Various officials and diplomats have given assurances that they are working to rectify the situation—but these promises have not yielded any results, and the situation has only become worse.”

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; discrimination that prevents Baha'is from accessing educational and professional opportunities; and pressure to dissociate from Baha'i friends and colleagues, exacerbating social and economic instability within the community.

With Egypt’s UPR session imminent, the Baha'i International Community calls on Member States to take decisive action, with the international community urged to recommend the following actions to the Egyptian government.

• Allow the Baha'is to manifest and practice their religion freely, alone and in community with others.

• Appoint an official entity to officiate marriage and divorce contracts for anyone who has a (-) listed as their religion on their ID cards. This entity would also seek to resolve the issues of personal status law in general (such as marriage, divorce, and inheritance) for the Baha'is.

• Remove the names of the Baha'i individuals from the airport arrivals watch lists (whether Egyptians or otherwise).

• Provide the Baha'i community with land for burial in the different governorates, as necessary.

“Egypt's leading regional role, and its expanding relations internationally, makes it only fitting for the country to lead by example in the human rights arena by addressing the stain on its record caused by its persecution of the Egyptian Baha'i community,” Dr. Haddad said. “Freeing the Baha’is to live their lives can be a significant step in this direction and would align with the positive developments taking place more generally across the Arab region, where many countries are moving towards promoting the values of coexistence and citizenship, taking genuine positive steps that deserve praise and appreciation.”

“The Baha'i International Community urges all Member States to use the upcoming UPR session as a platform to hold Egypt accountable for its human rights violations and to advocate for the rights and dignity of the Egyptian Baha'i community,” she added.

For more information please contact

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

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