PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
Freedom of religion or belief in Iran (28 February 2023)

That this House deplores the ongoing human rights violations being perpetrated by the Islamic Republic of Iran; notes that these violations come in a context of more general restrictions on the right to freedom of religion or belief for many religious minorities in Iran, including Christians and the Baha’i, and also Sufi and Sunni Muslims; mourns the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after her arrest for wearing the hijab "improperly" and her reported beating by members of the so-called morality police; considers the enforcement of religious dress codes for all Iranian women, regardless of their beliefs, to be a violation of the freedom of religion or belief of women from religious minorities in Iran, and also of Muslim women who do not wish to conform to mandatory hijab; highlights that these restrictions are in violation of Iran’s obligations as a signatory of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR); urges the Government of Iran to amend its constitution and relevant legislation to protect the right to freedom of religion or belief for all Iranians, as envisaged by Article 18 of the ICCPR; and calls on the UK Government to continue to defend freedom of religion or belief, in its fullest meaning, and to support the mandate of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran and of the UN’s Special Rapporteurs on Freedom of Religion or Belief and Human Rights in Iran.

Sponsored by:
Alexander Stafford (Conservative)