A/HRC/25/61 12. The Special Rapporteur addressed 25 communications, including 8 allegation letters and 17 urgent actions, to the Government to enquire about specific cases and express concern about certain trends, including the arrest and prosecution of journalists, political and student activists, trade unionists, artists, human right defenders, lawyers and women rights activists; the situation of religious minorities; lack of access to medical care in prisons, the application of the death penalty, including the execution of persons in secret; and the promulgation of discriminatory legislation. The Government responded to four of these enquiries. On 19 July 2013, the Special Rapporteur also issued several detailed surveys in the form of questionnaires to various government offices for the purpose of gathering further information about the impact of economic sanctions on the country’s humanitarian situation, and transmitted two requests for a visit on 16 May and 2 July 2013, in order to strengthen cooperation with the Government and to investigate further the allegations submitted to him. The Government has yet to respond to these communications. 13. The Special Rapporteur met with the Permanent Representatives of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations in Geneva and New York to discuss views on the conclusions drawn by the Special Rapporteur in his previous reports, his methodology and the prospects for future engagement. The Special Rapporteur looks forward to future opportunities for engagement and cooperation, including through further meetings and by visiting the country. III. Legislative developments A. Draft charter of citizens’ rights 14. On 26 November 2013, the Government announced the publication of its draft charter of citizens’ rights, which was made available for public comment.7 According to the draft, the charter proposes no new rights, but recalls the most important rights currently guaranteed by Iranian law. It states that the charter serves as the Government’s intended “plan and policy”,8 and proposes a framework for cooperation between the various branches of Government to strengthen guarantees for civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. 15. Human rights defenders and a number of human rights organizations contend that the current draft fails to address underlying concerns, emphasizing that it frames rights within the context of the current national legal framework, which has been a source of concern for the United Nations human rights machinery for decades.9 Articles 3.11 and 3.16, for example, acknowledge the right to promote and disseminate ideas and opinions, regardless of medium, and highlight the rights to freedom of association and assembly “within the framework of the law”, as long as they do not violate public rights or the principles of Islam. 7 8 9 See.www.president.ir/fa/72975. See the draft charter, art. 1.6, at http://shaheedoniran.org/english/reported-cases/citizenship-rightscharter/. Amnesty International, “Iran: Charter of Citizens’ Rights must enshrine human rights for all”, 19 December 2013, available from www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE13/057/2013/en; Human Rights Watch, “Joint Letter to President Hassan Rouhani re: draft Citizens’ Rights Charter, 27 December 2013, available from www.hrw.org/news/2013/12/27/joint-letter-president-hassan-rouhanire-draft-citizens-rights-charter; and International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, “Draft Citizenship Charter Will Allow Continued Rights Violations say Human Rights Groups”, 27 December 2013, available from www.iranhumanrights.org/2013/12/ichri-hrw/. 5