E/CN.4/1996/95/Add.2 page 11 Sabbath to be observed in its schools, with parliamentary approval, despite the objections of experts from the Ministry of Education. Apart from some cases observed during the visit, the directors of these schools have to be Muslim, contrary to the wishes of the minorities, who do not, however, object to the presence of non-minority teachers. All these problems have given rise to discussions between minorities and authorities and raise the question whether such schools should be public or private, as the minorities would like. 43. With regard to universities, no information referred to problems of access for minority students or teachers. Applicants to universities are tested on their religious knowledge. There is a chair of Armenian studies at the University of Isfahan. (e) In the professional field 44. In addition to lack of access to government posts, minorities do not have professional access to the army and the judiciary (administration) 2/ and are limited in their career development to the rest of the administration, save in exceptional cases. In the private sector, minorities do not seem to have any problems, except in specific and personal cases not connected with the authorities. However, non-Muslim owners of grocery shops are required to indicate their religious affiliation on the front of their shops. (f) Other fields 45. In the field of justice, especially at the lower levels of public courts, minority plaintiffs are usually discriminated against by judges, who treat them as members of a minority and not as Iranian citizens, applying their brand of Islam and taking decisions that are very often in favour of Muslims. 46. In referring to the question of non-Muslim minorities, the minority representatives stressed the following fact: they do not want their situation to be used against them and manipulated by other countries for reasons that have nothing to do with them, such as political strategies against Iran. They emphasized the importance and usefulness of the dialogue between minorities and authorities as a way of reaching short-term, medium-term and long-term agreements, compromises and solutions. They also requested that their situation should be dealt with objectively at the international level. 2. Sunni Muslim minority 47. The Special Rapporteur was unable to obtain official figures on the numerical size of the Sunni minority. The Sunni representatives estimate that they represent about 10 per cent of the Iranian population. (a) In the religious field 48. The Sunni representatives said that they were not subjected to any interference in the form of restrictions by the authorities of their religious activities. They drew attention to their status as a legally recognized