A/RES/72/189 Situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran 4. Welcomes the engagement of the Islamic Republic of Iran with human rights treaty bodies, including through the submission of periodic reports, and notes in particular the engagement of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran with the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its participation in the universal periodic review; 5. Also welcomes the efforts of the Islamic Republic of Iran to host large numbers of Afghan refugees, granting them access to basic services, in particular access to health care and education for children; 6. Further welcomes the ongoing contact with and dialogue between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, as well as the invitations extended to other special procedures mandate holders; 7. Welcomes the expressed readiness of the Iranian High Council for Human Rights and other Iranian officials to engage in bilateral dialogues on human rights; 8. Takes note of the outcome of the presidential and local council elections of May 2017 and of the peaceful electoral process, which saw high voter turnout and which resulted in an increase in the number of women representatives on local councils, while expressing concern about the large number of candidates, including all women presidential candidates, who were disqualified through processes that lacked transparency; 9. Expresses serious concern at the alarmingly high frequency of the imposition and carrying-out of the death penalty by the Islamic Republic of Iran, in violation of its international obligations, including the imposition of the death penalty against minors and persons who at the time of their offence were under the age of 18, and executions undertaken for crimes that do not qualify as the most serious cri mes, on the basis of forced confessions or against persons who at the time of their offence were under the age of 18, in violation of both the Convention on the Rights of the Child 6 and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 2 expresses concern at the continuing disregard for internationally recognized safeguards, including executions undertaken without notification to the prisoner ’s family members or legal counsel, and calls upon the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to abolish, in law and in practice, public executions, which are contrary to the 2008 directive seeking to end this practice issued by the former head of the judiciary; 10. Calls upon the Islamic Republic of Iran to ensure, in law and in practice, that no one is subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, which may include sexual violence, and punishments that are grossly disproportionate to the nature of the offence, in conformity with amendments to the Penal Code, the constitutional guarantees of the Islamic Republic of Iran and international obligations; 11. Urges the Islamic Republic of Iran to cease the widespread and systematic use of arbitrary detention, including the use of this practice to target dual and foreign nationals, and to uphold, in law and in practice, procedural guarantees to ensure fair trial standards, including timely access to legal representation of one ’s choice from the time of arrest through all stages of trial and all appeals, the right not to be subjected to torture, cruel and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and consideration of bail and other reasonable terms for release from custody pending trial; 12. Calls upon the Islamic Republic of Iran to address the poor conditions of prisons, to eliminate the denial of access to adequate medical treatment and the __________________ 6 2/5 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1577, No. 27531. 17-23185

Select target paragraph3