A/HRC/43/61 care. As hospitals are reportedly experiencing shortages of medicines, medical equipment 26 and consumer goods,27 the most vulnerable patients, especially those with serious diseases such as cancer, haemophilia, thalassaemia, multiple sclerosis and epilepsy, are at greater risk.28 In its comments, the Government states that, in November 2019, the Head of the Epidermolysis Bullosa Association announced that 15 children had lost their lives due to lack of medication and equipment. 15. While a majority of medications are produced domestically, the Islamic Republic of Iran relies on the import of raw materials for their production, and a lack of stable imports has seriously hindered domestic production.29 By June 2019, imports of medical supplies had fallen by 60 per cent compared to September 2018. 30 The Minister of Health has expressed concern that importers and manufacturers may be compelled to purchase alternative or lower-quality products, which could pose health risks for patients.31 C. Death penalty 16. The Special Rapporteur notes ongoing serious concerns regarding the use of the death penalty in the Islamic Republic of Iran. According to information received, as many as 217 executions were carried out between 1 January and 31 October 2019. At least 25 executions were carried out pursuant to convictions for drug-related offences,32 confirming the significant decrease in executions for drug-related offences since the 2017 amendment of the drug trafficking law. However, the Special Rapporteur is concerned that the overall rate of executions in 2019 appears to be higher than in 2018, with roughly 20 more executions reported at the time of writing compared to 2018. The actual number of executions may be higher, as many are not announced by the authorities. As few as 68 executions were announced by the Iranian authorities of those documented and verified by civil society between 1 January and 31 October 2019.33 17. At least 12 of the executions reported in the first 10 months of 2019 were carried out in public.34 The Human Rights Committee has opined that public executions are contrary to the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. 35 The Committee has also noted that failure to respect article 7 would inevitably render the execution arbitrary in nature and thus also in violation of article 6. 36 18. The death penalty continues to be applied for a wide range of offences, in contravention of article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which notes that States parties that have not yet abolished the death penalty should only impose it for the most serious crimes. According to the consistent interpretation of the Human Rights Committee, the most serious crimes are those that involve intentional killing. 37 The Islamic Penal Code does not limit the application of the death penalty to such cases. The death penalty may be applied for example in some cases of adultery, for certain cases of consensual same-sex intercourse between men or for offences that are not well-defined, such as efsad-e fel-arz (“spreading corruption on earth”). In June 2019, when asked about 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 6 www.ilna.ir/fa/tiny/news-663910. www.ilna.ir/fa/tiny/news-673055. https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/08/14/u-s-sanctions-are-killing-cancer-patients-in-iran/. https://ifpnews.com/iran-producing-97-of-medicines-it-needs-domestically; https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/08/14/u-s-sanctions-are-killing-cancer-patients-in-iran/; www.tehrantimes.com/news/439394/IRCS-Sanctions-hindering-pharma-raw-materials-import. www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-49051782. http://behdasht.gov.ir/?siteid=1&pageid=1508&newsview=195932; www.hrw.org/report/2019/10/29/maximum-pressure/us-economic-sanctions-harm-iranians-righthealth. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Human Rights Committee, general comment No. 36 (2018) on the right to life, para. 40. Ibid. Ibid., paras. 5 and 35.