In 2018, prison data shows that at least three quarters of Iran’s political prisoners are from ethnic minorities.55 Ethnic minorities, especially Kurds and Balochis, are over-represented in death penalty statistics. Many of the offenses carrying the death penalty, in particular drug-related offenses and national security offenses, are among the charges most commonly used to target and convict minorities. Impoverished and marginalised minorities have been over-represented among those executed for drug offenses. Additionally, Kurdish political prisoners charged with national security offences represent almost half of the total number of political prisoners. Overall, half of those executed for affiliation with a political party or a banned group between 2010 and 2018 were Kurds, while a quarter were Balochis and over one-tenth Arabs. Reportedly, 22 Ahwazi men were executed in secret in 2018.56 Executions targeting members of ethnic minorities continue, notably against Kurdish dissidents.57 Between mid-December 2020 and early February 2021, at least 21 Balochi prisoners were executed in Iran.58 Despite the existence of several mechanisms that ostensibly accept complaints regarding violations of citizens' rights, such as the Parliament’s Article 90 Commission (established under Article 90 of the Constitution, offering a mechanism to citizens to file complaint against any of the three branches of power) and the Oversight Bodies for the exercise of Citizenship Rights in the country's provincial courts, there is no evidence to suggest that complaints submitted before these bodies are independently reviewed and investigated. 59 60 Additionally, opportunities to seek justice, for the aforementioned restrictions permitted under Iranian law on otherwise protected activities under international law, are particularly limited. In light of the above, Iranian authorities did not recognise that dialogue and the inclusive participation of all the citizens in a diverse society, can form the basis of enduring initiatives that address poverty and development. These same initiatives can also serve to strengthen the protection of the rights of all ethnic minorities in the country. Recommendation Status: This recommendation has NOT been implemented. 55 Minority Groups, https://minorityrights.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Rights-Denied-Violations-against-ethnic-andreligious-minorities-in-Iran.pdf 56 Amnesty International, https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2018/11/iran-fears-mounting-for-detained-ahwazi-arabs-amidreports-of-secret-executions/ 57 Amnesty International, https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2020/07/iran-two-kurds-executed-amid-increasing-use-ofdeath-penalty-as-weapon-of-repression/ 58 OHCHR News, https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=26716&LangID=E 59 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 60 Joint submission to the Human Rights Committee, Abdorrahman Center, Iran Human Rights Documentation Center (IHRDC), Impact Iran and Human Rights Activists in Iran, 2020, https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=INT%2fCCPR%2fICS%2fIRN%2f42313 &Lang=en 6