A/HRC/34/40 B. Cooperation with special procedures 80. The Secretary-General welcomes the significant increase in the number of communications sent by special procedure mandate holders that have received a response from the Islamic Republic of Iran. Of the 33 communications sent between January and December 2016, the Iranian authorities responded to 21. The majority of the communications addressed concerns with regard to cases of torture, execution, arbitrary arrest and the detention of journalists and human rights activists, the persecution of religious minorities, unfair trials, ill-treatment of prisoners, the denial of medical treatment for prisoners and reprisals against individuals for their contact with United Nations human rights mechanisms. 81. The Secretary-General encourages the Government to show full cooperation with the newly appointed Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran by allowing her to visit the country. Although he repeatedly sought access to the country following his appointment in 2011, the previous mandate holder was never invited to visit by the authorities. 82. The Secretary-General welcomes the invitations extended to the Special Rapporteur on the right to food and the Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights for a country visit. They would be the first country visits by mandate holders since 2005 and would represent a step forward in the implementation of the standing invitation issued by the Government in 2002 to all thematic special procedures. It should be recalled that the Government had previously agreed in principle to visits by the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief. The Secretary-General also encourages the Government to respond positively to the requests for visits it received from the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in 2015 and from the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers in 2006. C. Cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights 83. The High Commissioner has continued to raise human rights concerns with Iranian officials, including in meetings with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the head of the High Council for Human Rights, the Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations and visiting delegations. The High Commissioner has also intervened with the Iranian authorities on individual cases. The Secretary-General welcomes these exchanges and encourages the Government to pursue a dialogue on the implementation of recommendations received during the second cycle of the universal periodic review and to take advantage of the technical cooperation programmes of the Office of the High Commissioner with a view to abolishing and/or restricting the use of the death penalty in law and practice. D. United Nations Development Assistance Framework 84. The Secretary-General expects that the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United Nations system will implement programming under the United Nations Development Assistance Framework from a human rights and a gender perspective, consistent with human rights obligations. That is also consistent with the spirit of the commitment to human rights made by the Government under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals contained therein. IV. Recommendations 85. The Secretary-General remains deeply troubled by the continuing large number of executions, including of juveniles, and reiterates his predecessor’s call on 14