Iran Revives “Al-Jufair Agricultural Project” to Displace Ahwazi People and Seize Their Lands

The Ahwazi Organization for the Defense of Human Rights has published a report on Iran’s recent revival of the “Al-Jufair Agricultural Project,” which had been in planning for 29 years. The project aims to seize 40,000 hectares of agricultural land between Al-Hawizeh and Al-Muhammara, near the Iraq border. Although the Iranian government claims that the land was allocated in 1994 to cooperative companies and former IRGC soldiers for growing feed, human rights reports reveal that the real objective is to forcibly displace the local population.

The report notes that this is not the first such project. Iran has been attempting to alter the demographic fabric of Ahwaz since 1936 by settling non-Arab tribes in the region. Indigenous Ahwazi residents suffer from a lack of services and economic opportunities, forcing them to leave or face forced displacement and extreme poverty.

In this context, Hakim Al-Kaabi, director of the Ahwazi Organization for the Defense of Human Rights, stated, “What is happening in Al-Jufair is a clear attempt to seize Ahwazi lands and settle outsiders, under the guise of failed economic projects. These policies are aimed at destroying Ahwazi land and identity.” Al-Kaabi called on the international community to intervene urgently to stop these violations and urged the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues to take action against the systematic discrimination practiced by the Iranian regime against the Ahwazi people.

Ahwaz News Agency

05-10-2024