For use of information media; not an official record
Date: Monday 15 February (morning)
Country under review: IRAN, ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF
Concerned country - national report
- Represented by a 33-person delegation and headed by the Secretary General of the High Council for Human Rights, Judiciary, H.E. Dr. Mohammad Javad Larijani
- National report presented by H.E. Dr. Mohammad Javad Larijani
Highlights
- Eight members of Parliament, two Vice Presidents, one Minister and several Vice Ministers are women.
- Reform of the judiciary underway, e.g. juvenile courts and new Penal Code.
- Close to 70 percent of sentences in Iranian courts related to drug offences and drugs trafficking over the recent years.
- Initiatives to generate employment.
- Ministerial Conference of the Non-Aligned Movement on Human Rights and Cultural Diversity in Tehran, in September 2007.
- Human rights explicitly enshrined in the Constitution.
- Open invitation to special procedures of the Human Rights Council.
Interactive discussion
Number of States taking part in the interactive discussion
- Member States: 25
- Observer States: 28
Positive achievements
- Access to health care and education.
- Efforts to eradicate poverty.
- Plans to reduce illiteracy.
- Efforts to provide adequate housing for all citizens.
- Investment in welfare programmes.
- Women’s high level of education.
Issues and questions raised
- Repression of peaceful protests, in particular in the aftermath of the 2009 presidential election.
- Extrajudicial and arbitrary arrests and detention.
- Torture and ill-treatments, inter alia by the police force and in detention facilities.
- Harassment and detention of political dissents, human rights defenders and journalists.
- Execution of juvenile offenders.
- Independence of the judiciary
- Trafficking of women and girls.
- Discrimination against women and children.
- Freedom of expression, association and assembly.
- Discrimination against Baha’i and other religious minorities.
Recommendations
- Take measures to eradicate torture and other cruel and degrading treatments.
- Prohibit executions of persons who where under 18 at the time of the offence.
- Consider a moratorium on the death penalty with the view of abolishing it.
- Respect the right to a fair and impartial trial for all persons under arrest.
- Prosecute all persons involved in human rights abuses.
- Take measures to prevent excessive use of force by the security forces.
- Eliminate in law and in practice all forms of discrimination.
- Ensure equal rights for men and women, in particular in the field of access to employment.
- Guarantee freedom of expression, of the media and of assembly.
- Uphold constitutional provisions guaranteeing freedom of worship.
- Ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention Against Torture.
Response of the concerned country
- Arbitrary detention and punishment – Judiciary independent from the government; safeguards the rights to a fair trial. Constitution prescribes open court hearings, innocence until proven guilty, independence of judges, etc.
- Rights of prisoners – Rights to consult a lawyer, meet family members, access to information and to education. Efforts to eradicate solitary detention.
- Freedom of expression – Cannot be used to spread hatred and violence.
- Religious freedom – Discrimination on the basis of religious belief prohibited by the Constitution. Baha’i enjoy citizenship rights, although their religion is not officially recognized.
- Women's rights – Large number of NGOs dedicated to women's rights. Women represented in politics and in the judiciary. Efforts to prevent forced marriages.
- Executions – Permissible under strict standards. Large number of executions related to cases of drug trafficking.
Adoption of the report by the UPR working group scheduled on
Wednesday 17 February, 12:00 – 12:30
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