A/HRC/22/48 Baluchistan and Kordestan the figures are 38.3 and 22.5. Similarly, primary-school enrolment in Sistan-Baluchistan is 76.7 per cent, compared with a national average of 90 per cent.37 Moreover, income inequality stood above 0.4, with significant disparities between provinces, districts and urban centres/rural areas. 38 50. Following the August 2012 earthquake in Eastern Azerbaijan, concerns were raised about the slow relief efforts and lack of adequate shelters for the affected families. According to reports received, many of the affected families still live in tents despite the winter and only 15 per cent of the people in Varzaghan have been settled. 39 In order to protect themselves from cold weather, some families were forced to take shelter in their partly destroyed houses, which expose them to further risks. There are also reports of coldrelated illnesses in the affected areas. The Government announced relief and reconstruction programmes but refused international assistance, which reportedly slowed down relief efforts. 51. The accumulated effects of the financial sanctions imposed in relation to the country’s nuclear programmes are likely to have had detrimental consequences for the general population, including their economic, social and cultural rights (see A/67/181). While, it is difficult to assess the direct impact of economic sanctions, which mainly target banking transactions, they have certainly affected every sector of the society. Indirectly, sanctions have accelerated inflation rates, contributed to a drastic rise in commodities and energy costs, increased unemployment and a shortage of necessary items, including medicine.40 Unemployment has reportedly increased to around three times higher than the official rate of 12 per cent.41 It has been estimated, that between 500,000 and 800,000 Iranians have lost their jobs in the past year, as many employees had to cut payrolls, partly because of the currency’s devaluation. Millions of unskilled factory workers are on wages below the official poverty line of 10 million rials (about $300) a month. 42 52. The Islamic Republic of Iran has also raised serious concerns that the imposition of sanctions has severely disrupted the distribution of medical and pharmaceutical supplies and, therefore, interfered with the functioning of the health system (see A/67/181, pp. 8–9). At the same time, health officials complained that the Government had failed to supply the Ministry of Health with foreign currency for drugs and medical supplies for the first half of the year.43 On 8 December 2012, the Health Minister called on the Central Bank to provide foreign currency to import urgently needed medical drugs and equipment. 44 Given that the 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 United Nations Development Assistance Framework, The Islamic Republic of Iran 2012–2016, p. 3. Various household income and expenditure surveys show the extensive differences. See www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2012/12/201212119338578615.html, www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2012/1122/Iran-s-summer-earthquake-leaves-100-000shivering-in-tents-as-winter-descends and www.bbc.co.uk/persian/iran/2012/11/121126_l93_earthquake.shtml (in Persian). See www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/05/us-iran-medicine-idUSBRE8B40NM20121205. See also www.odvv.org/blog-38. See www.ilna.ir/news/news.cfm?id=24201. See www.economist.com/node/21564229 and www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/19/us-iranunemployment-idUSBRE88I0TA20120919. See http://isna.ir/fa/news/91082012505 (in Persian); www.radiozamaneh.com/english/content/sanctions-putting-patients%E2%80%99-lives-danger, http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-11-22/world/35509868_1_health-care-crunch-healthcommittee-central-bank and http://rc.majlis.ir/fa/news/show/825703. On 27 December 2012, President Ahmadinejad sacked the Minister of Health apparently for her call for drug prices rises caused by sanctions. See www.presstv.com/detail/2012/12/27/280389/ahmadinejad-sacks-health-minister/, 15