A/HRC/25/26 Foreign Affairs. She also intervened with the authorities on a number of individual human rights cases, through private meetings, letters and public statements. These mainly related to the rights of women, the death penalty, and the rights to freedom of opinion and expression, and peaceful assembly. D. Universal periodic review 41. The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran undertook its first universal periodic review on 15 February 2010. Out of 189 recommendations, it accepted 123 of them. While little information is available regarding progress on implementing these recommendations, the Secretary-General notes as positive information that the Government has embarked on drafting its national report on implementation of the first universal periodic review recommendations. As the Islamic Republic of Iran is scheduled to appear before the Human Rights Council in October-November 2014, for its second cycle of the review, the Secretary-General calls on the Government to more actively involve civil society actors and other relevant organizations in preparation for the review, and to seek assistance from the United Nations in the implementation of the review’s recommendations. IV. Conclusions and recommendations 42. The Secretary-General welcomes the positive steps taken by the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, notably the release of high-profile political prisoners, and the reinstatement of some students and lecturers in universities. The SecretaryGeneral encourages the Government to build on these positive developments by creating space for human rights defenders, lawyers and journalists, and to release political prisoners, including human rights defenders and lawyers Abdolfattah Soltani, Mohammad Ali Dadkhah and Mohammad Seifzadeh, detained solely for exercising their rights to freedoms of expression, association and peaceful assembly. 43. The Secretary-General remains deeply troubled by reports of increasing numbers of executions, including of political prisoners, and continuing amputations and floggings. The Secretary-General reiterates his call for the Government to institute a moratorium on the use of the death penalty, and to prohibit executions in public. 44. The Secretary-General urges the Government to address the concerns highlighted in this report, and the specific calls for action requested in previous resolutions of the General Assembly, as well as recommendations of various human rights mechanisms, including the universal periodic review process 45. Noting the positive achievements that the Islamic Republic of Iran has made against several economic and social indicators, the Secretary-General encourages the Government to continue addressing regional disparities in the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights, as well as discrimination against women and members of certain minorities. The Secretary-General also calls on the Government to work in close cooperation with civil society organizations in the follow-up and implementation of the May 2013 recommendations of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. He strongly encourages the Government to reach out to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights for the necessary technical assistance and cooperation in this regard. 46. To improve human rights protection and promotion in the Islamic Republic of Iran and with a view to strengthening a national human rights culture, the SecretaryGeneral urges the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to establish an 15