Chronology: Date 1985-07

date	event	tags	firsts
1985 6 – 9 Jul	The European Bahá'í Youth Conference was held in Antwerp, Belgium, in July 1985, and was attended by some 1,450 youth from 45 nations. The youth addressed the European Parliament and the Council of Europe in letters which told of their resolve to put into action the International Youth Year themes of 'Participation, Development and Peace'. The youth spoke of programs in which Bahá'ís were supporting the themes, including human rights education and social and economic development projects. [BW19:301] For picture see BW19:315.	Conferences, Bahá'í; Conferences, Youth; - Conferences, International; Youth; International Youth Year; European Union; Antwerp, Belgium; Belgium; - Europe
1985 21 Jul	Prior to this time, some national communities elected their delegates to the National Conventions on the basis of areas that had Local Spiritual Assemblies, while in other larger national communities, delegates were elected on the basis of electoral units in which all adult believers had the vote. From this time forward, all were to use the Electoral Unit system. There would be no change in the number of delegates elected to attend the National Convention. When establishing the electoral unit basis for the election of delegates, a National Spiritual Assembly should divide the territory under its jurisdiction into electoral units, based on the number of adult Bahá'ís in each area, in such a way that each unit will be responsible for electing preferably one delegate only. Given the wide variety of geography in the Bahá'í world, each National Spiritual Assembly was directed to establish the most effective means for the election of the delegates to its National Convention and for providing for an opportunity for consultation among the electors. "It is the hope of the Universal House of Justice that the implementation of [the electoral unit method of electing delegates to the National Convention] will promote Bahá'í solidarity, broaden the basis of representation at National Conventions and that thereby the work of the Faith in each country will be characterized by greater efficiency and enhanced harmony." [21 July 1985]	Conventions, National; Elections; - Administration; Electoral unit system; - Bahá'í World Centre
1985 15 – 26 Jul	Ten representatives of the Bahá'í International Community attended the third World Conference on Women to Review and Appraise the Achievements of the United Nations Decade for Women and Forum '85 in Nairobi. [BW19:147–8, 412; VV28–9] For a report of the Bahá'í participation see BW19:4.12–15. For pictures see BW19:413, 415. See UN Women.	Bahá'í International Community; United Nations; Women; Nairobi, Kenya; Kenya
1985 4 Jul	The publication of the compilation entitled "The Law of Huququ'lláh". [Messages63-86p670, Compilation of CompilationsVol 1 p489]	Huququllah, Basic timeline; Huququllah; - Compilations; * Publications; - Bahá'í World Centre
1985 3 – 7 Jul	An International Youth Conference to support the United Nations International Youth Year was held in Columbus, Ohio, United States attended by more than 3,200 youth from 42 nations. [BW19:300]	Conferences, Bahá'í; Conferences, Youth; - Conferences, International; Youth; International Youth Year; Columbus, OH; Ohio, USA; USA; North America
1985 2 Jul	In his report to the UN Human Rights Commission, the special rapporteur on the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide Benjamin Whitaker, used the term genocide in connection with the treatment of Bahá'ís by the Islamic Republic. It is believed that it was the first time the word had been applied to this situation in an official context. This assertion, although it was in an official UN report, was not pursued by the United Nations. Resolution 96 of the UN General Assembly, of December 11, 1946, titled "The Crime of Genocide," describes genocide as the "denial of the right of existence of entire human groups, as homicide is the denial of the right to live of individual human beings." In an article in IranWire of 15 November 2023, author Faramaz Dakar asks, "Is the Islamic Republic Committing a Silent Genocide Against the Bahá'ís?". Q. What groups are the victims of genocide? A. Victims of the crime of genocide fall into four specific groups: ethnic, national, religious and racial. This means that, for example, a political group cannot be considered a victim of genocide based on its legal definition. What is relevant in genocide is the annihilation of a group or a community as a unit and even as a whole. Q. What specific actions constitute genocide? A. Behaviors that constitute the crime of genocide fall into five groups: (1) killing the members of the group; (2) inflicting physical harm that can gradually lead to the loss of life or impose permanent and extensive suffering on a person's life; (3) imposing conditions with the intent of annihilating the target group, such as starvation or cutting access to water, or depriving the members of the group of the means of survival such as seizing and confiscating their residences and businesses which ultimately makes it impossible for them to live that an environment; (4) creating conditions that prevent birth and childbearing or lead to the sterilization of people, and make the birth of a new generation of that religious, ethnic, racial or national group impossible; (5) the forced removal of the children of the target group. Iran is a signatory to the Convention Against Genocide therefore the the Islamic Republic must be held accountable for the systematic persecution of the Baha'is. There is no sign that this government has ever had any intention of doing so and Iranian laws do not address the crime of genocide in any form. [IranWire 15 November 2023	Genocide
1985 Jul	Three Bahá'í youths in Mentawai were imprisoned for having married according to Bahá'í law. [BW19:42]	Persecution, Indonesia; - Persecution, Other; - Persecution; Human Rights; Mentawai Islands; Indonesia
Try also a shorter date like 1985-0 or 1985 try also the Chronology Canada — 1985-07 or 1985-0 or 1985

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