norms and laws stipulated in the Constitution. 54 In 2019, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, despite noting that measures have been taken to improve the situation of minorities, said that they “do not alter the fundamentally discriminatory nature of the Constitution, legislation and Islamic Penal Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in particular in relation to the country’s unrecognised minority communities.”55 The disproportionate socioeconomic hardship on vulnerable groups such as ethnic and religious minorities in the Islamic Republic of Iran, admittedly exacerbated by economic sanctions, stem from the discriminatory Iranian legal system and practices.56 57 Regardless, the Islamic Republic of Iran has not met its obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, including on the protection of vulnerable groups. C. The Special Rapporteur recommends that the Government and Parliament: Establish a transparent financial mechanism to ensure that trade in medicines and other essential humanitarian items continues. There is no readily available information that might suggest that the Islamic Republic of Iran has established a transparent financial mechanism to ensure that trade in medicines and other essential humanitarian items continues. Recommendation Status: This recommendation has been PARTIALLY implemented. 54 Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review Islamic Republic of Iran, 27 December 2019, https://undocs.org/A/HRC/43/12 55 Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, 18 July 2019, https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N19/222/62/PDF/N1922262.pdf?OpenElement 56 See more : Joint submission to the Human Rights Committee from All Human Rights for All in Iran, Association for Human Rights in Kurdistan – Geneva, Association for the Human Rights of the Azerbaijani People in Iran, Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, OutRight International, Siamak Pourzand Foundation, Small Media, Impact Iran, 2020, https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CCPR/Shared%20Documents/IRN/INT_CCPR_NGO_IRN_42317_E.pdf 57 See more : Minority Groups, https://minorityrights.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Rights-Denied-Violations-against-ethnicand-religious-minorities-in-Iran.pdf 7