A/HRC/33/20 public executions, which implied an undignified exposure of the persons sentenced to death, and secret executions or those with short or no prior warning, added to the suffering of the persons sentenced to death, as well as of other affected persons. 49. Despite the prohibition of public executions in international law, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Saudi Arabia continued to execute death row prisoners in public on a regular basis. In his recent report on the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran (A/70/352), the Secretary-General noted with concern that the practice of public executions persisted in the country, despite their dehumanizing, cruel, inhuman and degrading effect on the victims and on observers. At least 58 individuals were publicly executed in 2015. In its concluding observations on the third periodic report submitted by the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Human Rights Committee recommended ending that practice (see CCPR/C/IRN/CO/3, para. 12). V. Use of the death penalty against children and persons with mental or intellectual disabilities A. Children 50. Pursuant to article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and article 37 (a) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, neither capital punishment nor life imprisonment can be imposed for offences committed by persons under 18. Nevertheless, capital punishment for offences committed by children remains lawful in 15 countries.39 51. During the reporting period, at least four persons were executed for crimes committed as children in Saudi Arabia and at least three offenders who were under the age of 18 at the time of their arrest remain at imminent risk of execution. In September 2015, three United Nations experts released a statement urging Saudi Arabia to immediately halt the execution of children.40 52. In his report to the Human Rights Council on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Secretary General raised concerns about the rate of execution of juvenile offenders in the country (see A/HRC/31/26, paras. 13-15). The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran has reported that the Islamic Penal Code of Iran retains the death penalty for boys of at least 15 lunar years of age and girls of at least 9 lunar years for certain crimes (see A/HRC/31/69, para. 19). There were at least four juvenile executions in 2015 with at least 160 others awaiting the same fate on death row. 41 In Maldives, where the age of criminal responsibility is 15, at least three persons were also sentenced to death for crimes they committed as children,42 and, as at the end of 2015, six individuals were on death row for offences committed while under the age of 18.43 39 40 41 42 43 14 The Child Rights Information Network has produced reports for the countries included within this figure, available from www.crin.org/node/42131. See www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=16487. See www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde13/3112/2016/en/. The original High Court judgment is available in Dhivehi at www.highcourt.gov.mv/dhi/ mediamanager/2011-49.pdf. Amnesty International, Death sentences and executions (2015). Available from www.amnesty.org/en/documents/act50/3487/2016/en/.