A/RES/73/181 Situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran 4. Notes the approval by the Parliament of the Islamic Republic of Iran of the Bill for Protection of the Rights of Children and Youth, in July 2018, which, if adopted and implemented, would mark an important step forward in protecting individuals from violence and abuse; 5. Recalls the commitments made by the Iranian authorities with regard to improving the situation of women, and notes in this regard the introduction of the Comprehensive Bill on Ensuring the Protection of Women against Violence; 6. 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 R ights of Persons with Disabilities and its participation in the universal periodic review; 7. Also welcomes the continuing efforts of the Islamic Republic of Iran to host large numbers of Afghan refugees and to grant them access to basic services, in particular access to health care and education for children; 8. 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; 9. Welcomes the expressed readiness of the Iranian High Council for Human Rights and other Iranian officials to engage in bilateral dialogues on human rights; 10. Expresses serious concern, notwithstanding the previously noted reduction so far in the number of executions for drug-related crimes, 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, in violation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, 6 and executions undertaken against persons on the basis of forced confessions or for crimes that do not qualify as the most serious crimes, including crimes that are overly broad or vaguely defined, in violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 2 expresses concern at the continuing disregard for internationally recognized safeguards, including executions undertaken without notification of 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; 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 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; 12. 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, to release those who have been arbitrarily detained 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 __________________ 6 2/5 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1577, No. 27531. 18-22277

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