Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran
A/69/356 para 102
Full recommendation:
The Special Rapporteur reiterates the call upon the Government to incorporate the provisions of
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights into national law, to establish an independent national
human rights institution, as it pledged when the country was first considered by the Working
Group on the Universal Periodic Review, and to end all forms of discrimination in law and
practice that undermine the full enjoyment of rights guaranteed by those two covenants,
regardless of gender, ethnicity, religion, belief or opinion.
Assessment using Impact Iran human rights indicators1
A. Establish an NHRI
As of November 2020, Iran has not established an independent and impartial National Human
Rights Institution. The High Council of Human rights is often mentioned by Iran as being the
country’s NHRI, yet the fact that this body is a part of the Judiciary of Iran strips it of any claims
of independence and impartiality.
B. Discrimination based on gender
Article 3 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran stipulates that it is a duty of the State
to work towards “the abolition of all forms of undesirable discrimination and the provision of
equitable opportunities for all, in both the material and the intellectual spheres.”2 Article 20
guarantees that all citizens of Iran, men and women, enjoy the equal protection of the law and of
rights, “in conformity with the Islamic criteria.” Article 21 emphasizes that “the government
must ensure the rights of women in all respects, in conformity with Islamic criteria.” While these
provisions supposedly safeguard the human rights of women and protect them from
discrimination, such legal guarantees exist as long as they are in conformity with “Islamic
criteria.” According to Article 4 of the Constitution the Guardian Council of the Islamic
Republic of Iran is entrusted with the definition and determination of the framework of what
constitutes the “Islamic criteria” or standards. Among the 12 non-elected members of the
Guardian Council, only the six male clerics directly appointed by the Supreme Leader are
1
CCPR.2.1.S.1; CCPR.2.2.S.1; CCPR.3.1.S.1; CCPR.3.1.S.4; CCPR.23.4.S.1
CCPR.2.1.P.2; CCPR.2.3.P.1; CCPR.3.1.P.3; CCPR.23.2.P.1
CCPR.2.3.O.4; CCPR.3.1.O.4; CCPR.18.2.S.1; CCPR.18.2.P.1; CCPR.18.2.O.1l; ESCR.2.2.S.1; ESCR.2.2.P.1; ESCR.2.2P.2;
ESCR.2.2.O.2
2
Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, https://irandataportal.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/constitution-english-1368.pdf
1