A/HRC/28/70 explosion.106 The children were reportedly unfamiliar with the risks of land mines and were playing with the object at an abandoned military base.107 As a result of the explosion, Garshin, an 11-year-old, lost her right leg; Ala, a six-year old, suffered an eye injury; Behnoush, a nine-year-old, suffered injury to both hands, feet, and abdomen; Sima, a fiveyear-old, suffered injury to the face, body, and feet; Zana, a 13-year-old suffered injury to the ear, head, and body; Khebat’s right eye was injured; and Matin, an eight-year old boy, was also injured.108 135. A year after the incident, in October 2014, a lawyer representing the children reported their ongoing need for adequate medical care. The lawyer stated “The girl [Garshin] who lost her leg in this incident does not have the means to purchase a prosthesis from the Red Crescent. Some of these families don’t even have the money to pay for a taxi service to visit the hospital or lawyer, or to even pursue the legal process after this incident […] They don’t have money for the surgery to have the land mine fragments removed from their frail bodies.” He maintained that the land mines surround abandoned military bases and that sometimes heavy rains cause the movement of mines into municipal settlements, children’s playgrounds, and agricultural lands, and therefore continue to pose a “serious threat to the health and security of citizens in these areas.”109 136. A few days later, the Kurdistan Governor, in a meeting with the child land mine victims of Neshkash, reportedly apologized and noted that the Government had agreed to pay all treatment costs for the children. The Governor reiterated that the clearing of Kurdistan’s border areas of land mines remained a priority for the administration. He admitted that the clearing of contaminated areas was not 100% achieved, and highlighted the relevant difficulties by noting that there are still places in the world, which were cleaned after World War I but still experience explosions.110 137. In its Reply, the Government points out that the land mines in the five western provinces of the country were planted by the former regime of Iraq during Iran-Iraq war and it holds Iraq and “those countries that supported her in imposing war on Iran” responsible for them. The Government also points out that the former ICRC chief in Tehran, the UN Resident Coordinator, a UNDP representative in Iran, and the Director General of Genève International Center for De-mining praised the post-war demining of contaminated areas. Moreover, despite apparent Government requests for assistance for its Iran Mine Action Center, the international community has not provided any aid. VII. Gender equality and women’s rights A. The plan to promote virtue and prevent vice 138. On 3 January 2015, the Guardian Council ruled the plan which would have encouraged vigilante justice by individuals and members of the basij and IRGC based on their interpretations of religious law, unconstitutional. 106 107 108 109 110 http://old.etemadnewspaper.ir/Released/92-07-28/97.htm#255499. http://www.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=13920727000291. http://www.ana.ir/Home/Single/109068. Ibid. http://www.shabestan.ir/detail/News/408631. 47