Such restrictions also apply at the university level, since students are required to be members of religious groups recognized by the State24 in order to be able to enroll, consequentially excluding students from unofficial religious minorities.25 26 There are no known policies in Iran that enable members of non-recognised religions to engage in their own cultural and religious practices. Members of religious minorities are reportedly persecuted for acts related to their cultural and religious beliefs and have seen their gathering places shut down by authorities.27 28 29 In 2016, the Iranian High Council for Human Rights issued a booklet entitled “Some measures taken by the Islamic Republic of Iran on demands of ethnic groups, religious minorities and sects”.30 The same year, President Hassan Rouhani issued a Charter on Citizens’ Rights, a government-endorsed declaration providing guidance for the implementation of the principles, norms and laws stipulated in the Constitution. 31 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.”32 In light of the above, the Islamic Republic of Iran has not taken steps to ensure that people with beliefs, other than those of the religions recognised by the country, can fully enjoy all aspects of economic, social and cultural rights, without any discrimination. Recommendation Status: This recommendation has NOT been implemented. 24 ‘Code of Ethical Selection for University Entrants,’ Ghavanin.ir, http://www.ghavanin.ir/detail.asp?id=6918 Fars News, ‘Students of artificial religions do not have the right to study at universities in the country (Persian),’ 11 June 2010. 26 Minority Rights Group, https://minorityrights.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Rights-Denied-Violations-against-ethnic-andreligious-minorities-in-Iran.pdf 27 https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/09/iran-tehran-sunni-mosque-prayer-space-pounak.html and https://www.hrw.org/news/2013/07/24/iran-sufi-activists-convicted-unfair-trials 28 Joint submission to the Human Rights Committee from The World Evangelical Alliance, Open Doors, Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Middle East Concern, Article 18, 29 May 2020 , https://articleeighteen.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/F3430b2020-JointReport_Iran_HRCttee_ListOfIssues-dragged-1.pdf 29 Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, 18 July 2019 https://undocs.org/A/74/188 30 Ibid. 31 Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review Islamic Republic of Iran, 27 December 2019, https://undocs.org/A/HRC/43/12 32 Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, 18 July 2019, https://undocs.org/A/74/188 25 4