Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences E/CN.4/2006/61/Add.3 para 72 (b) Full recommendation: With a view to the adoption and observation of international human rights standards the Special Rapporteur recommends that the Government: Ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women without reservations as soon as possible and bring national laws into conformity with the Convention. Assessment using Impact Iran human rights indicators1 A. The Special Rapporteur recommends that the Government ratifies the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women without reservations as soon as possible The Islamic Republic of Iran has not ratified the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). The Government of Mohammad Khatami presented a bill in order to ratify the Convention, which was adopted by the Parliament in August 2004. However, the Guardian Council, the body in charge of giving the final approval in the adoption process of laws in Iran, deemed the bill to be inconsistent with Islamic principles and norms, and thus rejected it. Article 3 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran stipulates that the State has a duty 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 of the Constitution emphasises that “the government must ensure the rights of women in all respects, in conformity with Islamic criteria”. According to Article 4 of the Constitution, the Guardian Council of the Islamic Republic of Iran is entrusted with determining and defining the framework of what constitutes “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 responsible for such task. While the aforementioned provisions supposedly safeguard the human rights of women and protect them from discrimination, such legal guarantees only exist as long as they are in conformity with “Islamic criteria.” The opportunity for interpretation allowed under qualifications such as “in conformity with Islamic criteria” has often resulted in provisions that discriminate or have a discriminatory impact on various grounds, including gender. 1 CCPR.2.3.S.1; CCPR.3.1.S.1; CCPR.3.1.S.4; CCPR.16.1.S.1; CCPR.23.2.S.1; CCPR.23.4.S.1; CCPR.3.1.P.3; CCPR.16.1.P.1; CCPR.23.2.P.1; CCPR.2.3.P.1; CCPR.2.3.O.4; CCPR.3.1.O.4 2 Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, https://irandataportal.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/constitution-english-1368.pdf 1

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