Mr. President,

Only a few days ago, on 15 September, over 20 members of the Bahá’í community in Yemen, including all of its national-level leaders, were indicted at a court hearing in Houthi-controlled Sana’a. The hearing began with only the judge, the prosecutor, and other court officials present; neither the Bahá’ís being charged nor their lawyers were informed of the court session. The next hearing is scheduled for 29 September, to which the judge has summoned those absent from the first court session, among them women and a teenage girl.

They have been spuriously accused, under various absurd pretexts, of espionage and apostasy—crimes which carry the death penalty.

Mr. President,

In its recent report, the Group of Eminent Experts presented its findings concerning the dire situation of the Bahá’í community. It refers to the arbitrary detention of Bahá’ís purely on the basis of religious beliefs, the rampant violations of due process, the promotion of a propaganda campaign by the leader of the Houthis to incite hatred against the Bahá’ís, and, in January of this year, the sentencing of a Bahá’í to death based on charges similar to those being levelled against the Bahá’ís just days ago. Moreover, the Group of Experts states that even its request to visit the imprisoned Bahá’ís has been denied.

All of the foregoing confirms that the Houthis’ plan to decimate this religious community continues unabated. In fact, there are clear signs that they are accelerating and intensifying their efforts. What is even more worrying is that the manner in which the Houthis are targeting the Bahá’í community is eerily reminiscent of the persecution of Bahá’ís in Iran in the 1980s during which leaders of the Bahá’í community were summarily rounded up and killed. In short, there is every reason to be concerned about the immediate safety of the Bahá’í community in Yemen.

Mr. President,

Our question to the Group of Eminent Expert is this: Given the present circumstances, what means can be pursued for the Houthis to abandon their escalating campaign of religious persecution?