A new report by the U.N. Special Rapporteur for human rights in Iran issued a new report on March 6, 2012. It concluded:
The Special Rapporteur has catalogued allegations that produce a striking pattern of violations of fundamental human rights guaranteed under international law. He restates his call for the Government to respect its international obligations, and underscores the pre-eminence of international human rights law, as it relates to the need to develop domestic laws that are compatible with international human rights laws and national standards. This includes the guarantees stipulated in the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Consequently, he urges the Government to reconsider the Parties and Associations Law Reform Plan, the bill on the establishment and supervision of non-governmental organizations, the bill aimed at the review and discipline of Members of Parliament, and the family protection bill, as well as security laws, to ensure that they do not contravene international standards.
The Special Rapporteur emphasizes the need to explicitly define actions that constitute crimes against national security, and encourages the Government to ensure that peaceful activities that are considered to be protected by freedom of expression, association and assembly are not criminalized. He reiterates his call for the immediate release of all political prisoners and prisoners of conscience and calls upon the Government to protect the space for public criticism or advocacy.
The Special Rapporteur joins the Human Rights Committee in its call for an extensive, impartial and independent investigation into the violence in the weeks and months that followed the presidential election of 2009. Similarly, he calls for further investigations into the numerous allegations of custodial violence and deaths at Kahrizak prison and other places of detention in order to implicate individuals that have not yet faced prosecution.
The Special Rapporteur urges the Government to prohibit the death penalty for cases that do not meet the standard of “serious crime” as defined by international law, and recommends that authorities commute capital sentences for individuals whose crimes do not meet that standard. He also calls upon the Government to seriously consider a moratorium on the death penalty for all crimes until such time as effective enforcement of due process rights may be meaningfully demonstrated, and urges the Government to allow for legal representation of accused persons at all stages of investigations.
The Special Rapporteur also recommends that the Government prohibit the execution of juveniles, as prescribed by international law, and that authorities consider commuting all capital sentences for juveniles currently facing a death sentence. Lastly, the Special Rapporteur welcomes the omission of the stoning penalty in the new Penal Code, but encourages the Government to take steps to explicitly restrict the use of this punishment, and calls on the Government to commute existing sentences for execution by stoning.
Lastly, the Special Rapporteur continues to stress the critical need for greater transparency and closer engagement with the Human Rights Council and United Nations human rights mechanisms in strengthening human rights safeguards for all in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Special Rapporteur recalls that the State accepted 123 recommendations made during its universal periodic review, and recommends that a voluntary mid-term review could provide a more transparent way to demonstrate their implementation. The Special Rapporteur encourages the Government to engage fully with special procedures mandate holders and to facilitate their access to the country, in compliance with the standing invitation issued in 2002. He also urges the Government to collaborate in the fulfilment of his mandate and to
respond positively to his requests for a country visit.
The full report can be found at http://persian.iranhumanrights.org/wp-content/uploads/HRC-ICHRI_en.pdf.