20 21 22 NGOs have reported a pattern of violations to the aforementioned human rights targeting disproportionately members of minority or marginalised groups. 23 24 25 26 27 28 The authorities have continued to respond to protests with excessive and unlawful force. In November 2019, authorities violently repressed protests across the country. Around 7,000 persons were arrested and detained according to a spokesperson for Iran’s parliamentary committee for national security and foreign policy.29 30 Numerous reports show that the Government continues to arrest individuals solely exercising their rights to freedom of opinion, expression and association, who remain currently in detention.31 32 Despite the existence of several mechanisms that ostensibly accept complaints regarding violations of citizens' rights, such as the Article 90 Commission of the parliament (established based on 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 to these bodies are independently reviewed and investigated.33 Additionally, the possibility to submit complaints is particularly limited as freedom of expression, assembly and association are legally restricted in the Islamic Republic of Iran. 20 Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, January 2020, https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/IR/Report_of_the_Special_Rapporteur_on_the_situation_of_human_rights_in_the_ Islamic_Republic_of_IranA4361.pdf 21 See more: United for Iran, database of Iran’s prisons and political prisoners available at https://ipa.united4iran.org/en/ 22 See more: EN-Human Rights Activists News Agency, https://www.en-hrana.org/?s=activists 23 See more: Association for the human rights of the Azerbaijani people in Iran, http://www.ahraz.org/association-for-the-humanrights-of-the-azerbaijani-people-in-iran-ahrazs-repot-regarding-the-current-situation-of-the-azerbaijani-arrestees-that-arearrested-during-the-recent-protests-nove/ 24 See more: Kurdistan Human Rights Geneva, https://kmmk-ge.org/sd/annual-report-2020/ 25 See more: United For Iran, https://ipa.united4iran.org/en/prisoner/ 26 Center for Human Rights in Iran, https://iranhumanrights.org/2020/10/more-bahais-begin-serving-prison-sentences-in-iransimply-for-their-beliefs/ 27 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 28 “Iran arrests 29 linked to protests against compulsory hijab laws”, New York Times, 2 February 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/02/world/middleeast/iran-hijab-protests-arrests.html 29 “November Protests; the details of the case of three prisoners who were sentenced to death,” HRANA.5 March 2020. https://www.en-hrana.org/november-protests-the-details-of-the-case-of-three-prisoners-who-were-sentenced-to-death 30 See more : Article 19, Small Media, Human Rights Activists in Iran, Impact Iran, https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=INT%2fCCPR%2fICS%2fIRN%2f42315 &Lang=en 31 See more: United For Iran, https://ipa.united4iran.org/en/prisoner/ 32 Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, July 2020, https://documentsdds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N20/190/27/PDF/N2019027.pdf?OpenElement 33 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 3