A/HRC/34/40 honouring Sacred Defence Week in September, and were formally charged in November with disturbing public order, destruction of public property, insulting the sacred and insulting senior officials. 73. In December, the largest Persian-speaking Protestant community in the country, Jama’at-e Rabbani, announced that Sharon Gardens, in the city of Karaj and of which it was the owner, had been confiscated. Charges of espionage were reportedly brought against the community and in July 2015, Branch 3 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court ordered the confiscation of its premises. That decision was upheld by the Appeals Court in August 2016. 74. The Secretary-General renews his predecessor’s call on the Government to respect the right to freedom of religion and belief, to address all forms of discrimination in all spheres of life, to uphold and implement legislation that protects minority groups and individuals, and to ensure the release of all individuals imprisoned on the basis of their religion or belief. G. Reprisals against activists cooperating with the United Nations 75. Allegations of reprisals against individuals because of their cooperation or contact with the United Nations human rights mechanisms or representatives remain a cause for great concern. 76. In a press statement issued in November 2016, several special procedure mandate holders urged the Government to end the harassment of a woman trying to learn the fate of her brother, Hossein Rahemipour, and his newborn daughter, who had disappeared from prison more than 30 years earlier. In June, the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances reviewed the case of the alleged enforced disappearance of Mr. Rahemipour and transmitted it to the Government. The experts indicated that the charges against Raheleh Rahemipour might be in direct reprisal for her human rights activism in the search for her relatives and the exercise of her rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression. 77. The Secretary-General urges the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to protect individuals from all acts of reprisal and to investigate and ensure accountability for all cases of intimidation and reprisal. III. Cooperation with international human rights mechanisms and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights A. Cooperation with the human rights treaty bodies 78. The Secretary-General welcomes the cooperation of the Islamic Republic of Iran with the treaty bodies, which has improved in recent years. The first report to the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD/C/IRN/1) has been scheduled for consideration in March 2017. The Secretary-General also encourages the Government to submit its fourth report under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which has been overdue since November 2014. 79. The Secretary-General encourages the Government to comply fully with the followup mechanisms of the treaty bodies and to provide the information sought by the committees on the implementation of recommendations made in their concluding observations. He renews his predecessor’s call on the Government to seize this opportunity to examine the progress made in the application of the human rights treaties by way of accurate, regular and timely reporting. 13

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