A/HRC/19/66 country, the Government‟s insufficient enforcement of its current obligations is of immediate concern. III. Legal issues 13. Every country places certain limits on freedom of expression, association and assembly, but it is essential that these restrictions be not misused by authorities to close the space for criticism, or advocacy of policies and actions that have an impact on the public interest. Allegations of human rights violations reported to the Special Rapporteur demonstrate that a number of vaguely defined security provisions within the Islamic Penal Code are applied in ways that contravene international human rights law and unduly limit freedom of expression, association and assembly. For example, articles 513 and 514 of the Code criminalize “insults” to any of the “Islamic sanctities” or holy figures in Islam or to the first leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Article 498 criminalizes the establishment of any group that aims to “disrupt national security”, while article 500 forbids “propaganda against the order of the Islamic Republic of Iran or propaganda on behalf of groups or institutions against the order of the Islamic Republic of Iran”. Article 618 criminalizes “disrupting the order, comfort and calm of the general public or preventing people from work”. Article 610 prohibits “gathering or colluding against the domestic or international security of the nation or committing such acts”. 14. The Special Rapporteur maintains that the vague nature of these provisions contravenes international human rights instruments to which the Islamic Republic Iran is a State party, and allow for arbitrary application and the abuse of power; for example, the laws that prohibit “insults” do not specify the behaviour or expressions that constitute an insult; consequently, individuals and organizations that criticize policies have been arrested and prosecuted for activities that are protected by international law. Articles 498, 500 and 618-19 impinge upon the right to freedom of association, the right of those associations to publicize views that scrutinize the regime, and the right to assemble, or to support such assemblies. More than four dozen individuals interviewed by the Special Rapporteur asserted that these laws were used to violate their human rights or the rights of other dissenters, and that they have been intimidated, arbitrarily arrested, detained and/or prosecuted for protected activities. A. Concerns regarding legislation 15. A new bill, entitled the “Parties and Associations Law Reform Plan”, defines membership requirements for all political organizations, stating that “followers and associates of antagonistic groups that act or have previously acted against the Islamic Republic” are prohibited from membership of political parties. Those deemed ineligible would be denied operation licenses and therefore prohibited from forming a political party or association. In the Special Rapporteur‟s view, such a bill unduly restricts freedom of association and would marginalize a large segment of civil society. 16. Another bill, on the establishment and supervision of non-governmental organizations, would create a supreme committee to supervise the establishment and work of such organizations. The committee would be managed by the Ministry of the Interior and members would include, inter alia, representatives from the Ministry of Intelligence and security forces, such as the paramilitary Basij. The committee would be mandated to distribute registration permits to non-governmental organizations, exercise significant power over their boards of directors, and disband organizations. According to the bill, the committee‟s approval would also be required for activities by organizations, including participation in seminars and conferences and educational sessions abroad, and 6