Violations of Arab Human Rights in Iran: The Roots of the Problem and the Prospects of a Solution
5 August 2018 –The International League for Peace and Human Rights (ILPHR) has organised a symposium entitled “Violations of Arab Human Rights in Iran: The Roots of the Problem and the Prospects of a Solution”, held in London.
The symposium, which was attended by a large number of interested audience, highlighted the issue of Arabs’ human rights in Iran through two themes: the first dealt with the anti-Arab practices in Iran through the multidimensional racist discourse presented by researcher Yousef Azizi, while the second focused on nine decades of oppression against Ahwazi Arabs by various Iranian regimes, presented by the rights activist Karim Dahimi.
The symposium was held in partnership with Tamadon Foundation (UK) and the Arab Cultural Forum in Britain. Dr Ibrahim Al-Adoofi, President of ILPHR, stated that promoting the culture of human rights is one of the objectives of ILPHR, which will also focus on “issues related to children’s rights, armed conflicts, women’s rights, migration and asylum issues”.
Dr Hamdan Dammag, vice President of Yemen Center for Studies and Research (YCSR), moderated the symposium and stressed that “dealing with the issue of Arabs’ human rights in contemporary Iran should not be confined to the current political tension between the Iranian regime and neighbouring Arab countries, but rather should be looked at from a human-rights prospective”, explaining that it is one of the hidden issues from Arab public opinion and that “further research and investigation is needed”. He added that Iran’s interventions in the region “has deepened the social gap in Arab countries and fuelled sectarian conflicts”.
Dr Mahmood Alazani, President of Tamadon Foundation, said that the issue of human rights should receive greater attention everywhere in the world, however, the Ahwaz issue is unique because it takes place in a historical and cultural zone of a contemporary conflict between Arabs and the Iranian regime, and the growing negative consequences on the human rights situation in the Ahwaz area needs to be highlighted.
