A Struggle for Self-Determination and Human Rights

Ahwaz is located in the south-western Iran and it is the capital of Khuzestan province. It has a border with Iran to the East, Iraq from the West, Arabian Gulf to the Southwest, Baluchistan to the South and Zagros Mountains and Kurdistan from the North. It was known by Arabistan because its people is native Arab people. In the light of Ahwaz’s history, it was occupied in 1925 by Iran, and the main reason for that was that Ahwaz has a lot of oil and other natural sources. From the time of occupation, Ahwazies people struggled for liberation to gain their rights of self- determination but they did not succeed in the independence.However, they were disabled during the time of Shah’s regime using all means to disable them from self- realisation and different policies.

Ahawazian people could work to affect the political struggle inside their territory since 2000 where they were able to organise themselves, they are struggling for a peaceful political fight. In addition, they reached their conditions to several international organisations that pay attention to human rights issues around the world, so these organisations did not accept the violation of the human rights against Ahwazian people by Iran. However, the latter does not stop and it challenges the will of international community. Also, the Iranian regime goes further to take Ahwazian land away from them in order to settle Persians people in Arabistan because it aims to change demographic character of Arabistain. This action causes anger among Ahwazian people as well as brought political issues. At the present, Ahwazian people are seeking from all international communities to force Iran to give up its actions such as, the injustice and inhuman acts. Moreover, they aim to get help to oblige Iran to respect international law in order to permit Ahwazian’s right of self-determination. Ahwazain people consider themselves as a nation as well as they have constituents

• Maryam Malmir, Mir Masoud Kheirkhah Zarkesh, Seyed Masoud Monavari, Seyed Ali Jozi, Esmail Sharifi ‘Urban development change detection based
• on Multi-Temporal Satellite Images as a fast tracking
• approach—a case study of Ahwaz County, southwestern Iran’(2015) vol. 187, no. 3, pp. 2
• National Assembly of Ahwaz, ‘History of Ahwaz’ http://ahwaz-parliament.com/english/history/index.htmaccessed 10 November 2016
• Ibid
• Ibid
• Ibid
• Ibid

of nations. They obey the laws and the principle of international community and assist humanity.

According to the United Nation Minorities Declaration states that all minorities have the right to exercise own actions such as cultural, religious and identity as well as member states should protect their being. In addition, article 27 of human rights mentions that people have the right without limitation to share with other in the culture life of the society in order to everyone gets pleasure from the arts. Richard Simeon has recommended that a state has two options to deal with the treatment of ethno cultural minorities. Firstly, countries should integrate all citizens on an affinity rely on sharing national institution. Secondly, they should accommodate variety through minority specification.Regarding Iran under the law, it is involving many nations, various cultural, various ethnic, and a different tongue country consist of Arab, Turks, Persian, Kurds, Turkmen and Baluch. Iran excludes and discriminates against some of them especially Arab. Ahwazi Arab in particular faces challenges and problems, Iran’s regime show that Sunnis cannot become a high government position like a president.In addition, the Ahwazi Arab has banded to participate in its own affairs. Arab minority is completely prevented from its cultural, civil, political, social rights by the government of Iran.According to the guardian,six Ahwazi people were sentenced the death by Iran’s regime because charges of some actions converting from Shiism to Sunnism, raising Ahwazi flag and trying to overthrow. Ayatollah Hashemi Shahrooudi argued that the sentences of Ahawzi people were mistaken that no enough evidence of their guilt had been submitted, and if we consider that they were guilty, these charges did not mention under Iranian law.

• Ibid
• Charter of the Unites Nation 1945, Article 1(3)
• Article 27 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• Will Kymlicka, ‘The internationalization of minorityRights’(2008)

By the Ahawz’s environment, Iran plans to consider and make Ahwazi Arab as a minority in their own territory by ethnic restructuring. It supports and helps Persians people giving them zero-interest loans to live in Ahwaz. This action is a violation of human rights to encourage the forced migration of Arabs of Ahawz. In the school, Ahwazi students suffer in term of the language, only Farsi and Persian exist in spite of they are Arab. Arabic language and others such as Kurdish and Turkish are prohibited. In consequence, the dropout rate of students is very high.This system of Iran’s education infringes the article 26 of the human rights which states that education should lead to a full development of the human rights personality and the support of respect for these rights and fundamental freedom. On top of that, there is a violation which can be seen in the inequity of water, and its pollution by industrial waste specially, the rubbish of chemical materials, which is thrown away in the river water that might create the high rate of the pollution in the territory. This action causes damage to both humankind and the environment.

With reference to the living and employment in Ahwaz, it is one of the most oil-rich territories in the world and almost 90% of Iran’s oil production is extracted from Ahwazi Arab homeland. However, Ahwazi people consider as the highest poverty percentage in Iran as they suffer from that, which the main reason of the poverty is the high unemployment rate in Ahwaz.Besides, if Ahwazi Arab labours participate in any peaceful political protests or activities that promote Arab rights and claim for their not paid salaries for months, they are probably to lose their jobs. As a case when workers were dismissed by Ahwaz mayor Mansour Katanbaf because the former participated in political demonstrations in 2011. Although workers appealed

• Tatchell, Peter,’Tehran's secret war against its own people’(The Times London, Oct 10, 2006) http://search.proquest.com/docview/319624402?accountid=12441accessed 10 October 2016
• Ahwaz Human Rights Organisation, ‘Religious Minorities in Ahwaz’(2013) http://www.ahwazhumanrights.org/en/stories/241accessed 10 November 2016
• Article 26 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• Ahwaz Study Centre, ‘Dr. Asma Al-Ktebi’s interventions on Ahwazi Arabs at UN minority issues forum in Geneve’(2014) http://www.ahwazstudies.org/en/Article.aspx?aid=834 accessed 10 November 2016
• Peter Tatchell, ‘Iran’s anti-Arab racism’ (Guardian,26 October 2007) https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2007/oct/26/iransantiarabracismaccessed 10 November 2016
• Ahwaz News Agency:, ‘Ahwazi: Country’s Highest Poverty Rate For Arab Ahwazi’(UNPO, February 6, 2013) http://www.unpo.org/article/15469 accessed 10 November 2016

against the dismissal, the case was not solved. The Iranian constitution mentions that no distinction between Iranian relation to their ethnicity or religion. People should not have any specials because of their race. However, in fact, Arab workers are suffering because of race.

• Ibid
• Ibid

Bibliography

• Article 26 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• Article 27 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• Charter of the Unites Nation 1945, Article 1(3)
• Ahwaz Human Rights Organisation, ‘Religious Minorities in Ahwaz’(2013) http://www.ahwazhumanrights.org/en/stories/241accessed 10 November 2016
• Ahwaz News Agency:, ‘Ahwazi: Country’s Highest Poverty Rate For Arab Ahwazi’(UNPO, February 6, 2013) http://www.unpo.org/article/15469 accessed 10 November 2016
• Ahwaz Study Centre, ‘Dr. Asma Al-Ktebi’s interventions on Ahwazi Arabs at UN minority issues forum in Geneve’(2014) http://www.ahwazstudies.org/en/Article.aspx?aid=834 accessed 10 November 2016
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• Maryam Malmir, Mir Masoud Kheirkhah Zarkesh, Seyed Masoud Monavari, Seyed Ali Jozi, Esmail Sharifi ‘Urban development change detection based
• on Multi-Temporal Satellite Images as a fast tracking
• approach—a case study of Ahwaz County, southwestern Iran’(2015) vol. 187, no. 3, pp. 1-10
• National Assembly of Ahwaz, ‘History of Ahwaz’ http://ahwaz-parliament.com/english/history/index.htmaccessed 10 November 2016
• Peter Tatchell, ‘Iran’s anti-Arab racism’ (Guardian,26 October 2007) https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2007/oct/26/iransantiarabracismaccessed 10 November 2016
• Tatchell, Peter,’Tehran's secret war against its own people’(The Times London, Oct 10, 2006) http://search.proquest.com/docview/319624402?accountid=12441accessed 10 October 2016
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