1. 2000-05-22 —
   The United Nations Millennium Forum was held at United Nations Headquarters in New York. It attracted 1,350 participants from more than 106 countries and many others participated remotely via Internet. The purpose was to give organizations of civil society an opportunity to formulate views and recommendations on global issues to be taken up at the subsequent Millennium Summit in September to be attended by heads of state and government. Convened by the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the Forum's overarching theme - "The United Nations for the 21st Century" - encompassed six main sub-themes in its declaration titled We the Peoples Millennium Forum Declaration and Agenda for Action (2000):

   1) Peace, security and disarmament;

   2) Eradication of poverty, including debt cancellation and social development;

   3) Human rights;

   4) Sustainable development and environment;

   5) Facing the challenges of globalization: achieving equity, justice and diversity; and,

   6) Strengthening and democratizing the United Nations and international organizations.

   The document was divided into three main areas: recommendations for governmental action; proposals for the United Nations; and actions to be undertaken by civil society itself.

   The Bahá'í International Community as an NGO representing a cross-section of humankind acted as a unifying agent in major discussions. Our principal representative at the United Nations, Techeste Ahderrom, was appointed to cochair a committee of non-governmental organizations. Lawrence Arturo and Diane 'Alá'í represented the Bahá'í International Community. [BW00-01p87-89, Letter from the Universal House of Justice dated 24 September 2000]

   • See The United Nations for the 21st Century: From Reaction to Prevention: Towards an Effective and Efficient International Regime for Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding by Detlev Wolter.
2. 2024-11-28 — The United Nations Forum on Minority Issues, part of the UN Human Rights Council session running in Geneva, was criticized by UN member states after the candidacy of Diane Ala'i was blocked from becoming chair. Nominations for the Forum chair rotate across different UN member states groupings and are decided by the president of the Human Rights Council. The decision to bar her was influenced by the Iranian government. The move provoked sharp criticism from UN members and human rights advocates for barring a qualified member of a minority from chairing deliberations concerning minorities.

   Ala’i was eminently qualified for the task. She is a human rights expert with more than 35 years of experience across the UN system and human rights mechanisms. She served as representative of the Bahá'í International Community to the UN in Geneva for 30 years, retiring in 2022, and was nominated as chair by the non-governmental Minority Rights Group. Her candidacy was also supported by several governments, including Austria, France, Switzerland, and at later stages of the selection process by Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. [IranWire 29Jan2024]

   Roya Boroumand, a prominent Iranian human rights activist and the Executive Director of Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran commented saying, “It is simply unacceptable that one of the worst human rights abusers in the world is allowed to decide who the UN Human Rights Council, a body mandated to fight against discrimination and intolerance, can nominate.” Boroumand added that Iran’s government chose to persecute minorities such as Bahá'ís “rather than addressing the root causes of Iranians turning away from Islam.” [Post on X; Post on X]

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