4th Meeting, 15th session of the Forum on Minority Issues

Review, Rethink and Reform,

Mehrab Sarjov

 

Iran is home to many ethnic nationalities. They are majorities within their regions and represented by political parties that enjoy significant support: the Baluch in Iran are one of several ethnic nationalities: The ruling elites in Tehran have ignored national diversity in pursuit of Nation building policies. They insist on one state, one language, and one culture that is not acceptable to the different ethnic nationalities within the state: this is part of the conflict within Iran today.

The centralized, unitary nation-state model adopted by Iran cannot meet the needs of ethnic nationalities in the state: the ethnic oppression has progressed to genocide and ethnic cleansing in Baluchistan, Kurdistan and Arab regions.

The people of Iran have stated that Iran’s government does not represent the people: ethnic nationalities have long noted the government does not represent them; Iran has a long history of institutional discrimination based on religion and ethnicity.

The people of Iran have a right to exercise free will, and the Baluch people have a right to exist without fear of persecution: the government denies the Baluch executive offices; they are massively underrepresented in economic institutions.

The people of Iran have a right to exercise free will, and the Baluch people have a right to exist without fear of persecution. Different ethnic groups have historically played leadership roles within the government. They have held office in cabinet roles such as Foreign Office, National security, Police, and Army. The Baluch have denied these roles within government; they are massively underrepresented in economic institutions.

External self-determination is the last resort for ending ethnic oppression.  

Conclusion

Iran is home to many ethnic nationalities. The Baluch are one of the many ethnic nationalities in Iran: they are repressed and exploited permanently in Iran.

The Iranian Governments oppression of Baluch is not new, 22/2/2021: In Shamsar Saravan, Pakistan, at Iran Border crossing 37 people were killed and over 150 were.

The recent protests have given the Iranian government more cover to carry out greater atrocities.

Recently, the day now memorialised as Bloody Friday, in Zahedan, Iran used heavy machine guns and helicopters to shoot at mosque attendees at prayer, 103 people were killed, and over 300 hundred injured in less than 17 minutes.

On 04 November 2022, Kash, 16 protesters were massacred and hundreds injured outside the governor’s office.

 The regime accuses and executes two to three people daily in Baluchistan; these executions constitute genocide and must be investigated by the United Nations.

Dear chair and the Forum

The Baluch demands justice and asks The United Nations' relevant organizations to hold Iran accountable for the atrocities the state security forces committed in Iran against the Baluch.

The rights of the state to territorial integrity should not be absolutes and unqualified when the state has no respect for human lives. The external right of self-determination is a tool that can be used to re-establish international standards of human rights and democracy.