employment to population ratios by target populations, civil society reports suggest that Iran’s minority populations are constantly being denied equal access to employment opportunities.23 D. Discrimination based on SOGI Article 19 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran guarantees that all people enjoy equal rights, “whatever the ethnic group or tribe to which they belong” and that “color, race, language, and the like, do not bestow any privilege.”24 However, the Constitution lacks an explicit provision recognizing sexual orientation and/or gender identity as protected characteristics. Article 20 of the constitution states that “All citizens of the country, both men and women, equally enjoy the protection of the law and enjoy all human, political, economic, social, and cultural rights, in conformity with Islamic criteria.”25 The stipulation of “Islamic criteria” excludes lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals from this legal guarantee as same sex relations are penalized under the Iranian ‘Islamic Penal Code.’26 The 2013 Penal Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran explicitly forbids sexual relations between same-sex partners, whether such relations are consensual or coerced. The offences and punishments for males engaged in same-sex sexual or intimate conduct (including acts such as kissing or lustful touching) are described in Articles 233 to 237. Depending on whether the convicted individual is active/passive partner, married/single, or whether they are Muslim/non-Muslim, the punishment can range from flogging to the death penalty. The 2013 Penal Code also criminalizes female same-sex relations and intimate conduct through Articles 238 to 240, the punishment for which is flogging regardless of circumstance. 27 There are no official, readily available statistics on the number of executions for same-sex relations.28 However, NGO reports have shown that it occurs and suggest the incidence rate is high.29 30 31 32 33 23 https://minorityrights.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Rights-Denied-Violations-against-ethnic-and-religious-minorities-inIran.pdf 24 Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, http://www.iranchamber.com/government/laws/constitution_ch03.php 25 Ibid. 26 Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, https://iranhrdc.org/denied-identity-human-rights-abuses-against-irans-lgbtcommunity/#2 27 Islamic Penal Code 2013, Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, https://iranhrdc.org/english-translation-of-books-i-ii-ofthe-new-islamic-penal-code/ 28 Small Media, 2018, https://smallmedia.org.uk/media/projects/files/BreakingTheSilence_2018.pdf 29 Amnesty International, 2017, https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/08/iran-hanging-of-teenager-shows-brazendisregard-for-international-law/ 30 Amnesty International, 2018, https://www.amnesty.org.uk/urgent-alireza-arrested-15-tortured-confession-be-executedtomorrow 31 Iran Human Rights, 2019, https://iranhr.net/en/articles/3611/ 32 Human Dignity Trust, https://www.humandignitytrust.org/country-profile/iran/ 33 International Lesbian Gay Bisexual Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA), 2019, https://ilga.org/downloads/ILGA_State_Sponsored_Homophobia_2019.pdf 5