Situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran A/RES/79/183 confessions and without fair trial and due process; reiterates the concern that a significant number of offences carrying the death penalty do not qualify as the most serious crimes, including drug-related offences, as well as other actions provided under the penal code of the Islamic Republic of Iran, including adultery, same -sex relations, apostasy, blasphemy and convictions for drinking alcohol, as well as crimes that are overly broad or vaguely defined, 9 which is in violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; 10 expresses serious concern at the disproportionate application of the death penalty to persons belonging to minorities, particularly ethnic and religious minorities, who are targeted for death sentences relating to their alleged involvement in political or religious groups, and at the continued execution of women, which has reached the highest number of reported executions of women since 2013; expresses concern at the use of the death penalty by the Islamic Republic of Iran as a tool of political repression, including against those exercising their rights to freedom of opinion and expression and peaceful assembly; expresses further concern at the continuing disregard for protections under Iranian law or internationally recognized safeguards relating to the imposition of the death penalty, including executions undertaken in secrecy or without prior notification of the prisoner’s family members or legal counsel, as required by Iranian law; 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, and to consider establishing a moratorium on executions; 10. Expresses serious concern at the continued imposition of the death penalty by the Islamic Republic of Iran against minors, and urges the Islamic Republic of Iran to cease the imposition of the death penalty against persons who at the time of their alleged offence were under the age of 18, in violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, 11 and to commute the sentences for all child offenders on death row; 11. 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 and gender-based violence in all its forms, amputations, 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 and standards, including but not limited to the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules), 12 and to ensure that all allegations of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment are promptly and impartially investigated and perpetrators held accountable; 12. Urges the Islamic Republic of Iran to cease the widespread and systematic use of arbitrary arrests and detention, including the frequent use of this practice to target dual and foreign nationals, who in some cases reside overseas and may be prosecuted upon return, and the practices of enforced disappearance and incommunicado detention for similar purposes, to release those who have been arbitrarily detained and to account for the fate or whereabouts of those subjected to enforced disappearance and to hold those responsible to account, and to uphold, in law and in practice, procedural guarantees and other legal protections to ensure a fair trial, including timely access to legal representation of one’s choice from the time of arrest through all stages of trials and appeals, full access to the content of the case file, being informed promptly and in detail, in a language that the accused speaks and understands, of the charges faced, and being provided consideration of bail and other __________________ See A/HRC/55/62 and A/HRC/55/67. See resolution 2200 A (XXI), annex. 11 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1577, No. 27531. 12 Resolution 70/175, annex. 9 10 24-24225 3/9