A/HRC/31/26 I. Introduction 1. The present report is submitted pursuant to General Assembly resolution 70/173, in which the Assembly requested the Secretary-General to submit an interim report on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Human Rights Council at its thirty-first session. In the report the Secretary-General provides information on progress made in the implementation of the resolution, focusing on the concerns identified therein. 2. The Secretary-General draws upon observations made by the United Nations human rights treaty bodies, the special procedure mandate holders of the Human Rights Council and various United Nations entities. He also takes into account information from official State media and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). 3. Since the submission of his report to the General Assembly (A/70/352), the application of the death penalty in the Islamic Republic of Iran continued at an alarmingly high rate, including in relation to drug-related crimes and with regard to juveniles. Corporal punishment, including amputation, flogging and blinding, was applied against individuals in detention. 4. The crackdown on journalists and human rights defenders, in particular women human rights defenders, intensified, with a large number of individuals arrested, detained and prosecuted for the mere and peaceful exercise of their profession or of their legitimate rights to freedoms of expression and association. No improvement was observed regarding the situation of religious and ethnic minorities, who remain subject to restrictions. Women and girls continued to face discrimination in the areas of marriage, employment and political participation. 5. The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran continued to engage constructively with the United Nations treaty bodies and under the universal period review. It also invited 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 to visit the country. However, requests for visits by other mandate holders, including the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, remained unanswered. II. Overview of the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran A. The death penalty 1. Use of the death penalty 6. The Secretary-General remains alarmed at the staggering rate of executions carried out in the Islamic Republic of Iran. At least 900 executions, including of women and children, were reportedly recorded in 2015, with some sources suggesting that the figure was higher than 1,000, confirming a pattern consistent since 2005.1 At least 750 persons were executed in 2014. On 26 June 2015 alone, 25 individuals were executed in Rajai Shahr prison.2 The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and several special procedure mandate holders have repeatedly expressed concern at the surging 1 2 2 See http://iranrights.org/newsletter. See http://tnews.ir/news/290E43222158.html (in Persian).