Resolution adopted by the General Assembly

[on the report of the Third Committee (A/55/602/Add.3)]

55/114. Situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran

The General Assembly,

Guided by the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Resolution 217 A (III). the International Covenants on Human Rights Resolution 2200 A (XXI), annex. and other human rights instruments,

Reaffirming that all Member States have an obligation to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms and to fulfil the obligations they have undertaken under the various international instruments in this field,

Mindful that the Islamic Republic of Iran is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination Resolution 2106 A (XX), annex. and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Resolution 44/25, annex.

Recalling its previous resolutions on the subject, the most recent of which is resolution 54/177 of 17 December 1999, and taking note of Commission on Human Rights resolution 2000/28 of 18 April 2000, See Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 2000, Supplement No.3 and corrigendum (E/2000/23 and Corr.1), chap. II, sect. A.

1. Welcomes:

(a) The interim report of the Special Representative of the Commission on Human Rights on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran; A/55/363.

(b) The broad participation in the parliamentary elections held during February and March 2000, which expressed the true commitment of the Iranian people to the democratic process in the Islamic Republic of Iran;

(c) The commitment made by the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to promote respect for the rule of law, including the elimination of arbitrary arrest and detention, and to reform the judicial and penitentiary system and bring it into line with international human rights standards in this field;

(d) The visit to the Islamic Republic of Iran of a technical cooperation needs assessment mission of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and encourages the follow-up to that mission;

2. Notes:

(a) The provisions of the new code of penal procedure, which provide for the attendance of lawyers for all kinds of lawsuits, and the judiciary reform project, which aims, in particular, at re-establishing a distinction between the offices of the judge and the prosecutor;

(b) The legal changes recently put into effect within the Iranian judicial system by which members of religious minorities are no longer obliged to state their religion when applying for a marriage licence;

(c) Developments observed with regard to the status of women in areas such as education, training and health;

(d) The bill currently under consideration that aims at raising the age of marriage;

(e) The work of the Islamic Human Rights Commission on the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran and, in particular, its efforts to investigate illegal detentions and disappearances;

3. Expresses its concern:

(a) At the fact that, since 1996, no invitation has yet been extended by the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Special Representative to visit the country;

(b) At the deterioration of the situation with regard to freedom of opinion and expression, in particular at restrictions on the freedom of the press, judiciary suspension of numerous newspapers, prohibition of publications and the arrest of journalists, political activists and intellectuals on the basis of laws related to national security, which are used as a pretext to deny or restrict freedom of expression, opinion and thought;

(c) At the continuing violations of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, in particular executions, in the apparent absence of respect for internationally recognized safeguards, and cases of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;

(d) At the failure to comply fully with international standards in the administration of justice and the absence of guarantees of due process of law and respect for internationally recognized legal safeguards, inter alia, with respect to persons belonging to religious minorities;

(e) At the discrimination against persons belonging to religious minorities, in particular the unabated pattern of persecution of the Baha'is, including the continuing detention and the sentencing to death of some of them;

(f) At the continuing discrimination, in law and in practice, against women, who still lack full and equal enjoyment of their human rights, as reported by the Special Representative;

4. Calls upon the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran:

(a) To invite the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on religious intolerance to visit the country and to resume its full cooperation with him, in particular so that he may study the evolution of the human rights situation in the country, including through direct contacts with all sectors of society, and to make full use of technical cooperation programmes in the field of human rights;

(b) To give effect, in the near future, to its invitation to the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances to visit the Islamic Republic of Iran;

(c) To consolidate respect for human rights and the rule of law and to abide by its freely undertaken obligations under the International Covenants on Human Rights2 and under other international human rights instruments;

(d) To make efforts to ensure the full application of due process of law and fair and transparent procedures by the judiciary and, in this context, to ensure the respect for the rights of the defence and the equity of the verdicts in all instances, including for members of religious minority groups;

(e) To ensure that capital punishment will not be imposed for crimes other than the most serious and will not be pronounced in disregard of the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights2 and United Nations safeguards and to provide the Special Representative with relevant statistics on this matter;

(f) To accelerate the process of the investigation into the suspicious deaths and killings of intellectuals and political activists and to bring the alleged perpetrators to justice;

(g) To eliminate all forms of discrimination based on religious grounds or against persons belonging to minorities;

(h) To implement fully the conclusions and recommendations of the Special Representative with regard to religious intolerance relating to the Baha'is and other minority religious groups Ibid., para. 110. until they are completely emancipated;

(i) To take all necessary steps to end the use of torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment, in particular the practice of amputation;

(j) To take further measures to promote full and equal enjoyment by women of their human rights;

5. Decides to continue the examination of the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, including the situation of minority groups such as the Baha'is, at its fifty-sixth session, under the item entitled "Human rights questions", in the light of additional elements provided by the Commission on Human Rights.

81st plenary meeting
4 December 2000

HOME | SITE MAP | SEARCH | INDEX | DOCUMENTS | TREATIES | MEETINGS | PRESS | STATEMENTS

© Copyright 1996-2000

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

Geneva, Switzerland