(ECPM) and Iran Human Rights reported at least 280 executions in 2019, compared to 273 in 2018. Of these 280 executions, 4 were of juvenile offenders. 31 32 33 34 In the first half of the last decade, the number of executions for drug related crimes had grown exponentially, to the point that in 2015, at least 638 people were executed under the drug law.35 After the 2017 amendment of the Anti-Narcotics Law, there was a significant decrease in executions, however, several hundred people are still executed per year. In 2019, at least 30 people were executed under the drug law.36 The prohibition of imposing the death penalty on children is widely considered to be jus cogens under international law and represents a violation of Articles 6(5) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and 37(a) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Human Rights Committee has explicitly stipulated that the death penalty cannot be imposed if it cannot be proven, beyond reasonable doubt, that the accused was older than 18 years old at the time of the offence.37 Executions of child offenders continue to be performed in the Islamic Republic of Iran. According to Iran Human Rights, Iran was the only country to carry out juvenile executions in 2020, with four executions recorded. 38 There is no readily available information that might indicate the existence of steps taken by the Government to repeal laws imposing the death penalty against child offenders. Despite some legislative changes, particularly with regards to juvenile executions and drugrelated crimes, there is no standing moratorium on the death penalty in Iran. Yearly execution figures put Iran at the top of the list of countries that violate Article 6(1) of ICCPR, which ensures that all people have the right to life.39 Furthermore, The Islamic Republic of Iran continues to execute individuals who committed a crime while under the age of 18 as well as individuals accused of certain drug crimes. Recommendation Status: This recommendation has NOT been implemented. 31 ECPM, Iran Human Rights, https://www.ecpm.org/wp-content/uploads/Rapport-iran-2020-gb-070420-WEB.pdf Amnesty International, https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2020/04/death-penalty-in-2019-facts-and-figures/ 33 See more: Abdorrahman Boroumand Center https://www.iranrights.org/projects/omidmap 34 See more: Human Rights Activists in Iran https://www.en-hrana.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Annual-Report-ofExecutions-2019.pdf 35 ECPM: https://www.ecpm.org/wp-content/uploads/Rapport_iran-2015.pdf 36 ECPM: https://www.ecpm.org/wp-content/uploads/Rapport-iran-2020-gb-070420-WEB.pdf 37 UN Human Rights Committee, General Comment no.36, Article 6 (Right to life), 3 September 2019, CCPR/C/GC/35, available at https://www.refworld.org/docid/5e5e75e04.html 38 https://iranhr.net/en/articles/4727 39 https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/ccpr.aspx 32 5