A/HRC/16/75 I. Introduction 1. The present report is submitted pursuant to General Assembly resolution 65/226, in which the Assembly requested the Secretary-General to submit an interim report to the Human Rights Council at its sixteenth session. The report reflects the patterns and trends in the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran and provides information on the progress made in the implementation of resolution 65/226, including recommendations to improve its implementation. The report also draws upon observations made by treaty monitoring bodies and the special procedures of the Human Rights Council.1 2. Since the previous report of the Secretary-General (A/65/370), the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran has been marked by a crackdown on human rights defenders, women’s rights activists, journalists and Government opponents. Concerns about torture, arbitrary detentions and unfair trials continue to be raised by United Nations human rights mechanisms. There was a noticeable increase in application of the death penalty, including in cases of political prisoners, since the beginning of 2011. Discrimination persisted against minority groups, in some cases amounting to persecution. Against this backdrop, there were, however, some positive developments, including the State’s signing of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict, in September 2010, its examination before the Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, in August 2010, and the conduct of a judicial colloquium together with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), in December 2010. 3. The Secretary-General met with the Senior Adviser to the Head of the Judiciary and Secretary-General of the High Council for Human Rights of Iran, Mohammad Javad Ardeshir Larijani, on 19 November 2010, in New York. The Secretary-General raised several human rights issues, such as constraints on human rights advocates, capital punishment, juvenile execution and concerns relating to minority rights. Mr. Larijani replied that the Islamic Republic of Iran appreciated the general cooperation with the United Nations on human rights with both the Secretary-General and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. He insisted, however, that his country strongly rejected the recent General Assembly resolution on human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran. II. Thematic issues A. Torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, including flogging and amputation 4. Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which the Islamic Republic of Iran is a State party, prohibits the use of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The State’s Constitution forbids the use of all forms of torture for the purpose of extracting confessions or acquiring information, and articles of the Penal Code and code on citizen’s rights provide for acts of torture to be punished. Reports continue to be received, however, about torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment taking place in various detention facilities. 1 Since the previous report of the Secretary-General submitted to the General Assembly, a number of special procedures mandate holders have reported on their communications with the Government on cases of concern. These are flagged in relevant sections of the report (see also annex). 3