A/RES/59/205
(f) The failure to comply fully with international standards in the
administration of justice, the absence of due process of law, the refusal to provide
fair and public hearings and right to counsel, the use of national security laws to
deny the rights of the individual and the lack of respect for internationally
recognized legal safeguards, inter alia, with respect to persons belonging to
religious minorities, officially recognized or otherwise;
(g) The systemic discrimination against women and girls in law and in
practice, despite some minor legislative improvements, and the refusal of the
Guardian Council to take steps to address this systematic discrimination, noting in
this context its rejection, in August 2003, of the proposal of the elected parliament
to accede to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women; 9
(h) The continuing discrimination against persons belonging to minorities,
including Christians, Jews and Sunnis, and the increased discrimination against the
Baha’is, including cases of arbitrary arrest and detention, the denial of free worship
or of publicly carrying out communal affairs, the disregard of property rights, the
destruction of sites of religious importance, the suspension of social, educational
and community-related activities and the denial of access to higher education,
employment, pensions and other benefits;
(i) The continuing persecution, including through the systematic and
arbitrary use of prolonged solitary confinement, and arbitrary sentencing to prison
of human rights defenders, political opponents, religious dissenters and reformists;
(j) The postponement of the visit of the Working Group on Enforced or
Involuntary Disappearances of the Commission on Human Rights to the Islamic
Republic of Iran;
3.
Calls upon the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran:
(a) To abide by its obligations freely undertaken under the International
Covenants on Human Rights2 and other international human rights instruments,
including provisions relating to freedom of opinion and expression, the use of
torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment,
the promotion and protection of the human rights of women and girls and the rights
of the child, and to continue its efforts to consolidate respect for human rights and
the rule of law;
(b) To implement the recommendations of the Working Group on Arbitrary
Detention, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to
freedom of opinion and expression and the Special Rapporteur of the Commission
on Human Rights on freedom of religion or belief;
(c) To cooperate with United Nations mechanisms, including by setting a
date for a visit by the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances,
and to respond fully to their recommendations;
(d) To implement fully the ban on torture, announced in April 2004 by the
head of the judiciary, and the related parliamentary legislation of May 2004;
(e) To expedite judicial reform, to guarantee the dignity of the individual and
to ensure the full application of due process of law and fair and transparent
_______________
9
Ibid., vol. 1249, No. 20378.
3