Rights of Minorities to Represent in the International Instruments and Constitutional Law of the Islamic Republic of Iran

Representation is a fundamental right that represents the right to sovereignty and is regarded as an indispensable phenomenon from people so that all parts of the population including minority and majority can choose representatives to determine their own interests. Ensuring the fundamental rights of minorities requires recognition of their effective representation in a genuine and effective representation system. A desirable representation system must actually be able to reflect the political will of the minority along with the majority of the people; otherwise, the right to sovereignty of the people in determining their own destiny lacks an effective guarantee. One of the characteristics of a right-based and democratic state in the modern state has been the issue of the rights of minorities and securing and ensuring their rights in various fields in a maximum level which would only be achieved through the recognition of the right of representation for minorities. Despite the importance of this fundamental right, international instruments have paid attention to it in a highly restricted way that the democratic concept of representation is not defined and prescribed decisively in the most significant international instruments including 1966 Covenants. In the Islamic Republic of Iran, minorities are considered citizens of the Islamic society, which assigns them the same political status as of the majority of the society and therefore, similar to other citizens, the right to represent of minorities –which is based on right to self-determination and right to equality- has been emphasized and guaranteed in Principle 64 of the Constitution. The Islamic Republic of Iran's Constitution's approach toward minorities, with the belief in common human value and dignity and inviting convergence of followers of different religions around the commonalities, has provided a logical and reasonable model for coexistence and interaction between the minority and the majority.