history. This cultural variety is present as a result of the geographical makeup of the country, the succession of cultures coming there over the course of time, and the size of its open spaces which partly exist as a consequence of British imperialism. The demarcation of the borders which the British imperialists imposed gave rise to a lack of political stability in some provinces such as in Arabistan/ Khuzestan and also to the emergence there of violations against human and environmental rights. These violations were not just confined to the government itself, however, the Iranian government continued this legacy in spite of differences of ideology and direction (Pahlavi and Shia). The violation of human rights was epitomised by the deprivation from education, the right to health, and even occasionally, the right to life, as well as violating some freedoms. As for environmental rights they appeared in the mismanagement of water and its pollution by industrial emissions, especially chemical waste which was deposited in the rivers and the Arabian gulf. In addition to this, dams exacerbated the frequency of earthquakes in the region and these industrial practices, whether intentionally or not, damaged both the people and the environment. 1. Violence against the Al Ahwazi people The Arabs in Al Ahwaz have been exposed to various forms of violence, whether direct or indirect, since Britain incorporated the province into Iran. This is in spite of most of its inhabitants being Shia. However, the Shia clerical government treat them with racial discrimination in a totally different way from which they support the Shia Arabs in Bahrain. These violations can be summed up in the rulings on arbitrary executions and the use of Arab soldiers from Al Ahwaz in the front line during regional wars as occurred during the Iran-Iraq war, in addition to extermination, enslavement, forced transfer, rape and coercion into prostitution and other forms of sexual violence. This is according to reports made by the Ahwaz Human Rights Organisation. Amongst other forms of violence, illiteracy is widespread within the Al Ahwaz population, and there is a lack of schools and teachers and deprivation from education in their mother tongue (Arabic) Another form of violence and discrimination is a lack of medical services and this leads to illnesses such as eye tumours and some skin diseases resulting from air and water pollution in the region. 2. Violence against the environment in Al Ahwaz Violence against the environment in Al Ahwaz and damage to it is exemplified by the concentration of heavy industry in all its forms in the region. In addition there has been misuse of water, whether due to exhausting it in industrial practices or due to changing the course of the tributaries of the river Karun and diverting its waters to the interior of Iran, which completely kills its living environment. Finally, by building dams which leads to an increase in the number of earthquakes in the region. This year the World Health Organisation has classified the cities in Al Ahwaz as being amongst the most polluted cities in the world. In 2012 the semi-official Mehr news agency in Iran reported that the levels of air pollution in the manufacturing cities of Al Ahwaz (Abadan, Al Ahwaz and Kunetra had reached 383, double internationally