Aadel Collection
Summary Record of the 364th Meeting
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INTERNATiONAL ________________
COVENANT Distr UL 2 7 19u2
ON CIVIL AND : ,. ... .... . . . GENERAL
POLITICAL RiGHTS CCPR/C/SR. 364
19 July 1982
Original: ENGLISH .
HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE . . . ..
Sixtet nth eession ,, ,.. .-..... ,
SUI'4MARY RECORD OF THE 364th MEETING . . :‘
Held at the Palais d .s Nations, Geneva,
on Thursday, 15 July 1982, at 10.30 a.m. .
Chairman : Mr. MAVRPMfflIATIS . : ‘
CONTENTS . .
Consideration of reports submitted by States partie8 under article 40 of the
Covenant . .. . .
This record is subject to correction.
Corrections should be submitted in on of the working languages. They should
be s t forth in a memorandum and also incorporated in a copy of th record. OEey
should be s nt within one week of th. dnt of this document to the Official Records
Editing Section, room E.6108, Palais des Nations, Geneva.
Any corrections to the records of the Public meetings of the Committea at
this session will be connolidated in a single corrigendum to be issued shortly
after tha and - th sassion.
(;r . )‘: .. 11 r: , 1 , , .
BP000670
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. cCPR/C./S 3 .4 . . . .
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The meetin r was called to o der,a't 10.40 a.m . .. . ‘ ..‘ .
: ‘. ‘ ...
CON IDERA.TION OF R P3RT dUBMITTLJ) BY TJ Tfl:3 PA PIE UNDER PJ TIOLE ‘40. ‘OF. 1' “ ‘, ‘ .‘
COVENkWI' (agenda item 4) . . . . . . .
Iran.(ccPR/c/l/Add,5 ) : . . . .
. 1. J.t the invitation of the Chairman in'. Khosroshahi (Iran) took a place at the
Committee table . .. ‘:.. . .
2. Mr. 1' IOhR0SH .BI said that the dynamic dog rine of Islam was the ideological
foundation of the Islamic Eevolution in Iran, in,which complete submission to
God Almighty was the fundamental basis for II . preserva' i op ofhurnanity and human ‘
freedom from all forms of human exploitation and domination. Islam and the Koran
recognized that people were distinguished by. II i'r colour, race and language, but
those superficial differences were never allowed to be used as a basis for
inequality in the enjoyment of human rights. The superficial differences were in
fact, according to the Holy Koran, divine signs and symbols, to enable men to know
each other and increase their knowledge. In Islam, there was only one criterion
for human superiority namely, “Taghwa” which might be translated as “virtues or
moral and spiritual values”. man was judged for his virtues and knowledge; he
acquired praise or blame oniy on the basis of hi.s acts. According to Islam and the
words of the Prophet, non—Moslena living in Moslem societies were to be treated as
fellow human ‘Leings and their lives and intere ts prhte ted. It followed in all ‘
logic that even if there was no religious bond between peoples, their common human
dignity dictated that they should he alluwed to enjoy their legitimate rights.
3. Before referring to individual articles of the Covenant, he wished to draw the
Committee's attention to thr e general points. . irst , in spite of the formidable
obstacles and difficulties, both internal and external, placed in the way of laying
the foundations of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Government had at no time
suspended the freedc-na and liberties, enshrined in the Covenant and in the
Iranian Conatitut' on. No state of emerge' cy had been impos' d, nor had martial law
been declared. e second point tc> note j o that the rcguh tionS and laws in force
in Iran at the present time fell into two distinct categories: (a) post—
revolutionary regulations arid laws, approveLl by the Islamic Consultative i ssembly of
Iran; and (b) re u1aticns extant in the pre_revolutioflarY era, which were still in
force and had been accepted as in accordance with Islamic practice. The
Islamic Consultative Assembly was at present examining laws and regulations in
‘ relation to criminal acts, thc-' Code of Criminal Procedure, the i alitary Penal Code
and other instruments. The third point to emphasize was the absolute independence
of the judiciary. To safeguard that important principle of the Iranian Constitution,
steps had bee taken to incorporate military and revolutionary courts within the
framework of the Ministry of Justice.
4. )uring the rest of his statement 1 i .w uld provide further information on ‘the
ways in which Parts I, II and III of the Covenant were implemented in Iran. A more
comprehensive report would be furnished, as soon as the present session of the
Islamic ConsUltdt1 Jssembly h d completod its task of approving the 1av and
--
CCPR/C/SR. 364
page 3
regulations he had referred to. He felt bound to emphasize that although many
articles of the Covenant were in conformity with the teachings of Islam, there
could be no doubt that the tenets of Islam would prevail whenever the two sets of
laws were in conflict. .
Article 6 . .
5. The right set forth in article 6 was guaranteed by articles 4 and 22 of the
Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, whigh provided: .
Article 4: “All civil, penal, financial, economic, administrative, military and
political laws, etc., shall-be b8sed on Islamic tenets. This
art icle shall generally govern l1 the articles of the Constitution
and also other laws and regulations t th discretion of the ‘
religious jurists, members of the Council ‘of' Custodians of
Islamic precept an the Constitutions' . .
Article 22: “The prestige, lives, propexty, rights, dwelling places and
occupations of people shall be immune against unauthorized entry,
unless oIIerwise provided by the law”. . .
6. The death penalty was imposed in Iran for very serio .is offences such as murder
or armed operations against the Islamic Republic of Iran. Sentence of d ath was
only carried out after a final judgeutent, repdered by a competent court and
article 110 of the Constitution concerning the duties and authority of leadership
provided for the pardoning of convicts or mitigationd punishment within Islamic
criteria on a proposal by the Court of Cassation.
Article 7 .
7. The .basic provisions on the protection of persons from torture or cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatments or punishment were to be found in articles 36 and 39
of the Constitution; which provideds .
Article 36: “ .ny torture whatsoever to induce persons to confess or to obtain
information shall be forbidden. To oblige a person to witness,
confess or swear an oath shall not be allowed, nor shall such
witness, confession or oath be valid. The party violating this
article shall be punished according to the law”.
Article 39: “ . spersions on the honour and reputation of a person arrested,
imprisoned or exiled accor ing to the law shall not be allowed
under any circumstances and shall render the. offender lia ble to
punishment”. .
Article 8 . ,
8. Iranian legislation contained no reference to slavery, since slavery was
never practised in Iran. However, article 43 paragraph 4, of the Constitution made
provision for safeguarding the freedom of choosing occupations, preventing persons
from being forced to accept particular jobs and preventing their exploitation.
.
c( n,.'c/ R. 334
page 4 .
Article 9
9. The right in article 9 was guaranteed by artic1e 22 and 32 of the
Constitution, which provided:
Article 22: “The prestige, lives, property, rights, dwelling places and
occupation of people shall be immune against unauthorized
entry, unless otherwise provided by the law
Article 32: “No person shall be arrested, unless otherwise ordered by
the law. If a person is arrested, he shall be notified .
in writing of the accusation against him and. within
. . 24 hours he shall be brought before a oqrnpetent court,
‘ which shall enquire into the •oase at its earliest convenience.
An r person violating' the provisions of this article shall
be punished according to the law' :. . ,: . ..
10. A further safeguard was contained in articles 87 to90 of the CriTninal Code
and. in article 171 of the Constitution. ‘
‘ ‘ . , , . .
A tiole 10 . . .
11. The right in article 10 of the Covenant was guaranteed by article 39 of the
Constitution, cited earlier. Further protection was afforded by clauses 39 to ‘
. 45 of the Prison R gulations, in conjunction with clause 29, which required the ‘
separation of those detained prior to trial from convicted persons, and also by
the regulations governing the implementation of article 29 of the Act establishing
juvenile courts. ‘
Article 11
12. Neither detention nor imprisonment were to be ordered for defaulting on
purely ivil obligations. An act promulgated in 1973 pxohbited detention or
imprisonment for inability to fulfil contractual obligations.
Article 12
13. Article 33 of the Constitution provided that no person should be exiled from
his place of domicile or be forbidden to reside where he desired or forced to
reside in a certain place, unless otherwise provided, by. the law.
Article 13
14. Under article 15 of the Executive Instructions governing the entry into the
country of foreign iationals, appeals from deoisions by the immi 'ation authorities
in regard to the issue, extension or renewal of residence permits might be submitted,
within 15 da ys of nctiffication, to the I anistry of the Interior. The relevant
. commission of the Ministry would then adjudicate on the request and communicate . ‘
its decision to the imrnigTation authorities.
CCPR/C/SR. 364
page5 ‘
Article 14
15. ‘In Iran all persons were equal before the court,s and tribunals, in accordance
with article 34 of the Constitution:
Article 34: “It shall be the indisputable right qf every person to seek
to obtain justice and, to this end, all persons shall be
entitled to plead before the c.ornpeten courts. Such courts
shall be open to all the people .rLd no person shall be
forbidden recourse to legal remedies to which he is entitled , . ..
in accordance with the law”.
l . Article 140 of the Constitution was also, applicable: . , ,
Article 140: “Charges brought against the President, Prime Minister and
ministers, as far as ordinary offences are concerned, shall ,. ..
be investigated at ordinary courts of justice with prior ‘ “ ‘ .
notification of the I'4ajlis” .
17. Article 165 of the Constitution provided:
Article 165: “Trials shall be held in sessions with the public admitted.,
, except where the court decides that open sessions would be
contrary to public decency or order, or when in private
litigation the parties thereto request that trial sessions
shall not be held in open court”.
18. Article 37 of the Constitution provided: . .
Article 37: “ .kcqi J.ttal shall be the main and. valid aim and no person
shall be deemed. guilty by law, unless his guilt has been
. established by a competent court”.
19. Article 35 of the Constitution provided: .
Article 35: “In all courts, the parties to a case shall be entitled to
appoint an attorney and, if they cannot afford a retainer,
they shall be provided with the means to appoint and retain
. an attorney”. .
20. In addition, articles 6, 7 and 8 and Notes 8, 9 and 11 of the Revolutionary
Tribunals Procedure, paragraph D, made explicit reference to the subject. Decisions
by revolutionary tribunals were covered by article 14 of the Act setting up special
courts to deal with counter—revolutionary offences, which was worded as follows:
Article 14: “Court decisions under the aforementioned Act arc final except
in the case of death and life imprisonment, where the condemned
person ma ,y submit an appeal within 5 days. Such appeals are
to ‘be proccss .d a.s a priority task and out of the normal ‘
schedule. Should previous court decisions be overruled, the
case shall be referred to another court'S .
.,
cCPi 1 'C/SR.364
: page 6
21. Article 171 of the Constitution provided as follows:
Article 171: “If the judge fails to consider rightly the merits of the case
“ “ or makes an error in his judgement or in reconcilis.tion of the
verdict with a particular case and thus causes someone to
sustain material and non—material losses, he Bhall ‘be responsible
for his failure in accordance with lalamic practice; otherwise
the Government shall pay for the lossec inci rred and in any case
the: accused shall be rc-ha'bi1itatod .' ‘
Article 15 ‘ , . .
22. In accord.ance with the Civil Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran, no pe son
could be condemned for actions which are not rec6 ized ‘as offences Sentencec far”
which provision is made •in the law, might not be imposed retrospeQtively. ... .‘ . ,
Article 16 . . . . ‘‘‘ , .
23. Article 20 of the Corictitu'Lion provided: . .
Article 20: “All persons, both men and women, shall be equal under ‘the ‘
protection of the law and shall enjoy all human, political,
. . economic, social and cultural rights, with due observance of
Islamic precepts'. ‘. . .‘ .
Article 17 .
24. Article 25 of the Constitution provided:
Article 5: Inspection of or failure to deliver letters, tapping telephones
‘ end disclosing telephone conversations, divulging telegrams and
‘ telexes, censoring or failure to send or deliver such messages,
overhearing or enquiry into other people's business shall be
prohibited, unless otherwise provided by IIe law”. , ‘ ..
Article 18
25. Article 1 of the Covenant being concerned with IIe freedom of conscience,
thought and religion was in anne wa rs siL lar to articles 12 13, 14, 23 and. 26 of
the Constitution, dealing with the State religion of Iran, with recognized religious
minorities in Iran,. with relations between lioslems and non—r'Ioslems, with freedom of
opinion ana with the freedom of Islamic or recognized religious minorities to form ‘
parties, associati is, political aroups and trade unions, in /IIich any person was to ‘
be permitted to participate. ‘ ‘ .
Article 19 . .
26. Freedom of exjression was covered in article 24 of the Constitution:
Article 24: OEe press and publications shall be free to write what they will,
unless the matter is detrimental to the principles of Islam or
the rights of the people. The courts shall decide on the
application of this articli .' .
‘ CCPR/C/Srt. 364
page 7
Article 20
27. In accordance with the Act regarding punishment of racial agitators, the
publication of material aimed at the promotion of racial prejudic;e and hatred and
also IIe.instigation of racial segregation, exercised against any race, colour or
ethnic group, were prohibited. Such offencec ie e punishable by imprisonment for
six mox ths o ,r fi e of up to .50,000 rials.
Articles 21 and 22
23. The right of assembly ‘ ias recognized in articles 26 and 27 of the Constituti n:
. .Art cle 26,: “Parties, associations, political groups and trade urlion8 and
slamic or recognizec religious minorities' societies shall be
free, provided that they do not violate IIe prinpiple of
independence, liberty, national unity and Islamic standards and
the foundations of the Islamic R public. 1 To person shall be
forbidden or forced to participate in any of these”.
Article 27: t Ral1ies and marches should be free, provided that they are
unarmed and do not damage the foundations of Islam”
Article 23
29. Since the family was the fundamental unit in Islamic society, all laws and
regulations were aimed at facilitating the formation of the family on the basis
of Islamic morals arid values. In accordance wiII clause 1670 of the Iranian Civil Code,
a marriage cc ntract could only be concluded with the consent of the parties concerned.
Clauses 1168 and 1179 of the Iranian Civil Code, regarding the wellbeing and education
of children, were broadly equivalent to t1 rights stipulated in article 23,.. .
paragraph 4 of the Covenant, .
Article 24
30. Article 21 of the Constitution provided:
Article 21: ‘OEe Gov rnmcnt shall proceed to protect mothers, especially
during pregnancy and nursing and prcvide the necessary care
. for orphaned children ... and entrust worthy mothers with the
guardianship of children, with a view to ensu ing IIc latter
a happy future, where there is no legal guardian”. .
Article 25
31. Article 25 covered sonic of the same ground as article 58 of the Constitution:
Article 58; “The legislative power shall be exercised through the Najlis ,
which shall be a consultative assembly of representatives elected
by the people”. .
CCFr /C/E. 364
pageC
In addition article 20 of the Constitution provided;
Article 28: ‘Every person has the right to choose, as he desires, an
: : occupation that is not contrary to Isla m, to the public
.interest and. to the rights of thers. The Government shaft
prbvide all IIe people with means of employment •unde.r equal
conditions and with duo consideration to the requirement of
society for different professions '
Article 26 ‘: - —
32. All Iranians of any ethnic, racial or tribal origin were entitled to enjoy
equal rights without disciir iination in iegard to race, oolour of skin or 1en uage.
Article 3, paragraph 14 of the Constitution provided as follows:
Article 3: “14. The Govdrnment of the Islamic Republic of Iran must ‘
ensure equal rights in every respect and equitable legal
security for men and women alike and equality of all the
. people bc-fore the law '. . . . .
Article 27
33. The right in article 27 was guaranteed in Iran in articles 12 and 13 of IIe
Constitution, referred to earlier in conriecti n with article 10 of the Covenant. .
34• The CHAD WdT thaniced the head. of the Iranian delegation for hi statement.
j :j j the Cemmittec to ask qucetions if they so wished.
35. Nr. SADI thanked the Iranian delegation for the information provided and its
wi1lin ess to answer questions. lie had read the report ofiran with interest but
regretted that it did. not fully conform with the guidelines provided by the
Committee (ccPR,'cj'5). He was pleased, however, to note that IIe delegatiqn iad
said that it would send a lengthier report at a later date.
36. laining his own position, he said II t in April 1979, inmediately after the
Iranian Revolution, it had been suggested that the Committee should press Iran to
submit a report. lIe had opposed the request as he had considered it would not be
fair to ask for a report so soon. At the Committee's October 1981 session, however,
he hadbeen the first to ask that the condition of human rights in Iran be given
priority, particularly in view of the media reports of conditions in that country.
He had. been appalled by the reports ho had hoard and read of mass executions and
: systematic torture. Such reports could not all be dismissed as exaggerations, .
37. Above all otner human rights, he placod the right to life, without which all
. other rights were null and void, lie did not, therefore, intend to ask questions
about the implementation of the many other rights mentioned in the Covenant, but
to concentrate-on that single vital right. :
CC?R/ /bH .364
page 9
38. In the first place, he inquired how many executions had been carried out in
Iran after the Revolution and what were the charges against those who had been
executed. He had been gratified to hear that the death penalty was only
applicable in cases of murder and armed operations, but there had ‘been reports that
it was inflicted for other offences. }ioreove ', in that context, what as weant ,
by armed operations? Was a person carrying a weapon and contempla ing a military
operatidn ‘ch .rgeable with a capital ‘offence?
39. Above all, he wonder d how the mass executions which had been widely reported
could possibly be considered compatible with th? Koran. He, too, was a Moslem,
but failed to see any justification in the Kan for mass execut .ons for crioees ,
not involving murder. The Koran preached tolerance, forgiveness, under8t dIIg
and love. He could understand that certain countiiee c nsidered the .des.tb penalty
justified in cases of niur er — though the philosophy of the Covenant aimed at
convincing countries to abolish capital puflishment — but he could not believe .tha
all the people who.had been executed in Iran had been murderers. H h ,ad beard ,
IIat the death penalty had even been inflicted for minor sexual offe c,ee,j..,A ve,
all, was'it true that thousands of children h d b en ex cuted? ‘ . . ,,‘ . .,: .
40. He realized that any revolution:!.ry government would be confronte by II rt
but there were reasonable ways of fighting such threats, those of the Koran and
of the Covenant. He therefore inquired whether torture, which was not acceptable
under the Covenant, ‘ a practi d in Iran during interrogations of alleged ,
terrorists. In that ‘connection, he asked the Chairman if the secretariat had e ny
documentary evidence or information on torture and executions in Iran.
41. Finally, he inquired OEether', in ‘Iran, the Covenant had precedence over
domestic laws or, in other words, whether an individual could have recourse to the
Covenant in a court of law in support of hie human rights. ‘
42. The CHAIRMAN asked the m mbers of the Committee and the representatives of
Iran simply to ask questions t the present stage.' The Iranian delegation would
be afforded time to -reply at a date convenient to them. .
43. The secretariat had no information on tox ture and executions in Iran.
44. Mr. 0PSA said that the ‘fact th t representatives of Iran were today before
the Committeewas worthy of note. Irati had accepted that it was sti.1 bound by
the Covenant and had sent an important delegation to t ie meeting as it had ec1 red
it would' do. ‘ . ‘ .
45. In April 1979, a few months after the Revolution, when the question of asking
for a new repcrt from Iran had been raised, he had himself been in favour of
making such a request. It had not, however, been necessary, since the .
charg d'affaires of Iran h ,..d come to the Committee at his own request and had made
a statemer t which withdrew the earlier reports (C R/C/l/ ud.1o and 26) as nor.
reflecting the reality of the situation in his country and had said that a new
report would •te submitted in due course. For various reasons the Committee
had had to wait a considerable time for that report and it was therefore particularly
welcome. . .
: ( cPR/C/Sh.364
page )O
46. He reminded the Iranian delegation that the members of the Commit ee p ved' ‘
in their personal capacity, as experts on the Covenant, and nQta representatirves
of Governments.
47.: As a State Party Iran had undertaken to r spect'and secure to everyone in' .
the country — without distinction of sex, religi6n or po1it ca1 opinion he
rights, inter alia , to life, hunune treatment, liberty and security, as well as
to the due process of law, to privacy, freedom of thought, conscience and
religion and, further, to freedom of expression, assembly, association, family
, rights and poiitioal rights, ‘to mention only some of the key terms of the , , ,
Covenant. . The report was required to show how those rights and obligationp w,ere,
1n lemented, by what remedies they were enforr d a d what factors and diffficulties,
fariy,' eifected IIeir implementation. . , . . , ., ,,,.
48. When Iran's earlier report had been considered four years ago, mar y . ,.
critical que ti ns had been asked on all those points of those who at that ii e ‘ ..
had”repres nted the country. Well—known problems had been referred to and it ,,
had been hoped that the next report would demonstrate, in terms of the Covenant,
the measures adopted and the progress made in the enjoyment of civil and political
righta in Iran. ‘ , . ,
49. At that time, he had been one of those who believed that great changes were :
needed in Iran arid that the people of Iran itself would have to carry them oqt.
OEat was still his firm belief. All were aware o1 the enor nous difficulties that
the Revolution' had had to cope with and understood that stability and progress in
human rights would not come at once or easily. However, now as before, the
Committee had to be critical and to ask whether IIe report submitted prpvided ai .
true picture. .
50. The people of Iran had brought foreign domination and earlier domestic ,
oppression to an end and the new Constitution denounced those evils. It'”opened
the' way towards achievement not only of real self—determination, as foreseen by.
article 1 of the Covenant, but also the general principles and individual rights
laid down in the following provisions. ‘ .
51. The report before IIe Committee did not, however, enable members to see,
whether those aspirations had been fulfilled. The brief written report”a'pp ared
to a large degree to be a statement of principles rather than of facts. It did
not relate its comments to the provisions of the Covenant and, in particular, did
not report on measures adopted and progress made as required by article 40 of the
Covenant. . ‘
52. The oral information provided by the Iranian representative was useful in ‘
informing the Committee about the Constitution and other rules and regulations,
“but it was to ‘be regretted that it had not been provided in writing. He had been
particularly interested' in the reference to the law concerning the entry of
, aliens. Ue inquired whether it was a new law or an earlIer one arid would like
‘more details of how it was, implemented in the new conditions.
53. In making that treliminary assessment, he did not propose any conclusion at
the present stage. In October 1981, sonic members had agreed that a less than
perfect report would have to be accepted and that what mattered was to get one, so
that the dialogue ‘between Iran's Government and the Committee could continue after
the interruption. Tne present repcrt said so little, however, about the facts of
the situation that it became necessary to look elsewhere for a basis on which to make
observations and put questions.
a ‘ ccPR/C/SR.364
page 11
54.' It was, of course, always possible to ask the questions which usually arose
when State Party's report was oonsidered, taking the Covenant article by
art'l.cle and recalling, the Committee's guidelines. Or, as had often been done,
the text of the Constitution' as submitted could be examined and related to the
provisions of the Covenant. But at the present time, dealing'with a country of
war and at a very serious moment in history, it was the Committee's task to
apply the Covenant as a yardstick on th legal and social system and the ‘ acts
of the situation in Iran. If the last. examination of that situation had been
based on a report which did not reflect reality, as th Committee had been told,
then the present ‘examination should not suffer from the same defect. Yet,
regrettably, the Committee appeared to be faced with a similar problem of
unreality unless a ‘number of questions of law and fact could be answered. The
‘last sentence of the report, which stated that certain unavoidable disorders and
discords resulting from the Revolution had been considerably reduced did not
provide sufficient enlightenment, ‘ . ... .‘
55. ‘ In the first place, therefor, the Committee should b further enllg t.ened
on w iat the fundamental role of Islamic law really meant in the context of II . ,
Covenant, especially since the Constitution so often referred to that concept,
Was Islamic law a body of rules appropriate for the government of a moderfl State?
The ‘Iranian representative had implied that II the case of a conflict between the
Covenant'and Islamiclaw, it was a foregone conclusion that the latter wou .d
pr evai'l whereas it was the Committee's view IIat'in the context of international
law the Covenant should prevail. ‘
56. Ha had heard it stated tha,t the Koran proclaimed “mischief through the land”
oras commonly translated in English corrup ion'on carth ' ‘a capital offence.
I s it true that capita]. punishment had been based on that concept and what did
It mean? Moreover, was it in accordance with articles 6 and 14 of the Covenant?
57. The next fundamental question to which answers were required concerned the
emergency so eloquently described in the' second half of page of the repprt,
The ‘influence of'the emergency on the o eration of law and order was only
implicitly commented upon For the purposes of the Committee and of the
Covenant,' much more information should be provided ab9ut the nature of the
emergency, whether ri hts under th Covenant had been derogated from, how, and.
the reasons thorefor. ‘On that point, the Committee required information not
only in the light of art c1e 4 of the Covenant Put also under the general . ‘
comment ‘5/13 set out in'the Committee's last report to the United Natlon
G nera1 Assembly (Official records: Thirty—sixth session, Supplement No. 40
(A/36I4 , ,annex VII)). ‘ ‘ , . ‘‘ ‘
j 5C. Since other members of the Comnii tee were waiting to speak, he would only
briefly mention a number of other points on which he felt information was .
needed. In addition to the use of'the death penalty information should be
provided on the nature and procedure of trials, the use of imprisonment or ,,
‘ arrest, detention awaiting trial, and the treatment of prisoners. Many other
Issues might be raised such as the position of women and of groups such as the
Bahal, propaganda for warand such punsihmentas flogging. ‘
S
GCPF /C/SH.364
page 12
59. In conclusion, he reiterated his view of the importance of the presence of
IIe Iranian delegation at the meeting and expressed the hope that a dial gu
would be established as regards the system underlying the Iranian Coristitu .pn..•
vis-&-vls the values expressed in the Covenant, which he hQped wpuld pr va.il
in Iran under whatever forn of govcrnmcnt
- 60. Mr. PRADO VALLE JO said that he welcomed the presence of the Iranian
delegation. As a citizen of a third world country he sympathized with t e ‘,
Iranianpeople in their struggle to assert their political rights and escape
- from the economic oppression they had endured for many years. He was glad o. ,
learn that the Iranian Government would submit a' new report since t} e z eport ..
before the Committee did not follow the guidelines regarding the form and
content. He hoped the new report would deal with certain aspects of the
in Iran concerning the protection of human rights which disturbed him.
61. As a non—Moslem he had difficulty in understandinghow a c nstitut n j
Law based on the principles of the Koran could be compatible n very resp t
withthe Covenant. How could a legal system based onIIe precepts of a ir le
religion protect all the human rights enshrined in the Covenant? Iran had
experienced a profoundly religious r?volution,the ob ect ve of'which was tQ,
change the legal structure of the country and break away from colonialisni and
economic-dependency. But the Committee was bound to ask whether the iran ar)
revolution had improved the situation with regard to the exercise ‘of human rig.hf s.
Was there better respect for human rights in Iran now than before the revolution
62. In the constitutional Law a number of articles relating to human rights ,
contained restrictions. For example, article 20 stated that all persons were ‘
equal-under the protection of the law and enjoyed all human, political, economic,
social and cultural rights “with due observance of Islamic precepts”. Article ‘21
guaranteed women's rights but “with due observance of Islamic precepts”. He ‘
wished to know how Islamic precepts guaranteed equality of the sexes. In
article 22 the prestige, lives, property, rights, dwelling places and occupat ans
of people were immune against encroachment ‘unless o'therwis ' provided by lat ”. ,‘
He would like more information on what was “provided by law”. Article 24 stated ,
that the press and publications were fr .e with the proviec; unless such writings
were “detrjmenta]. to the foundations of Islam or the rights ‘of the people”. Who ‘,
decided on the rights of the people? Article 26 was concerned with the right of ,
association whicti was guaranteed provided it did not “violate the pripc,ip es of,
independence, liberty national unity and Islamic standards and the' fouiidatjpn
of the Islamic epublic”. The proviso implied a certain restriction. A siIIi1 r ‘
proviso appeared in article 27 guaranteeing freedom for rallies and marches .“ ‘
“provided that they are unarmed arid do not damage the foundations of Islam”. He ‘
would welcome clarification on all those matters. ‘ . ‘
63. He was concerned at the concentration of power implied in article 107 and; -
wondered how it affected the exercise of human rights'; In particular, he qi8h d ‘
to know whether ‘the constitutional Law guaranteed an independent judiciary , . ‘
capable of ensuring that the Iranian people enjoyed full human rights. The'..:
reference in artidle 110 to thc appointment of the highest—ra kjnq offici l ,
of the judicial bench cast some doubt upon the impartiality of the judIciary. ‘
He would also like more information concerning the “Supreme Judicial Council”
mentioned In article 157 and its effect on the independence of the judiciary.
S
CCPR/C/SR 364
page 13
64. In page 4 of thc Iranian report (CCPfl/C/l/Add.58), paragraph (b) 3 mentionei
that article 173 of the Constitution provided for investigation of litigations,
complaints and protests of the public against government officials by a tribunal
known as the “Administrative Court of Justice”. . He wished to know what injustices
or oppressions had been committed by government employees or units which had led to
the establishment of that tribunal. . .. . . .
65. There appeared to be a distinction between principles and practice regarding
the exercise of human rights in Iran. Information was required regarding the
existence of special tribunals in Iran. In all countries. special tribunals posed
a threat to human rights. It had been alleged that 4,000 judgements had been mde
by special tribunals in Iran. The Committee would like more information regarding
f alleged summary executions.. It had been reported that many members of the Bahai ..
f j j had been tried by special tribunals. Article 15 of the Oonstitu ibna1 law
guaranteed freedom i or three religious minorities but did not appear to include
freedom for the Bahai faith.
66, The Iranian report laid down certain principles which he accepted,but' did riot
give a complete picture of the situation regarding human rights in Iran. OEe head
of IIe Iranian delegation had provided an interesting verbal report which did not
clarify the situation. What were the legal channels open to an Iranian citizen who
felt he had been deprived of his rights? He appreciated that in a country undergoing
a total change of system of government there might be abuses by people in authority
and that it might be necessary to establish tribu.nalB to deal with them. When a .
State Party submitted a report it should provide information in relation to each
article of the Covenant. Members would like to know what difficulties the Iranian
; Government had experienced in implementing those articles.
67. Sir Vincent EVANS welcomed the presence of the representetives of Iran and
thanked the authorities of that country for the report they had submitted. The ‘
willingness to furnish additional particulars was also greatly appreciated, . since
the report did not contain the detailed information concerning the measures taken
to implement the Covenant which the Committee normally expected. However, the
Committee had to recognize that there had been a revolutionary situation in Iran
and that the process of reviewing and changing the laws to give effect to the
principles of the Revolution was still under way. In any event, the report and the
Constitution, taken together, provided at least a basis on which the Committee could
proceed in accordance with article 40 of the Covenant. .
68, Iran had one of the oldest civilizations in the world. It was also one of the
most important Islamic States in the modern world. It was therefore not surprising
that events in Iran were followed with a great deal of attention in other countries.
It was the Committee's duty to raise matters which it considered to be of concern
regarding the implementation of the Covenant and, by elucidating the issues, to try
to promote the due observance of the rights contLined in it,
69. One important question was the status of the Covenant itself within the new
constitutional framework. The Covenant was treaty or international agreement, and
every State Party to it had the obligation, as a matter of international law, to
ensure that its laws and practices gave effect to the rights sot forth in the
Covenant. In many countries such treaties became an integral part of the domestic
legal system and their provisiona became directly applicable by the courts and
administrative authorities of the State, OEe actual provisions of the Covenant
could be invoked by the individual in proceedings before the courts and in his
relations with the administrative authorities. That was probably the most direct
and effective way of giving effect to the provisions of the Covenant in the domestic
legal system of the State concerned. It would be interesting to know what the
position was in that respect in Iran.
CCPR/C/SR. 364
page 14
70. Article 170 of the Constitution provided that judges of justice c6urts should
refrain from administering government decrees and regulations in so far as they were
contrary to Islamic laws. Likewise, the Council of Custodians, under chapter 6 of the
Constitution, had the responsibility to ensure that enactments of the hajlis were
consistent with Islamic tenets. The Covenant reflected what the international
. community, including many States with an Islamic tradition, considered to be
universally applicable minimum standards of human rights. It would therefore be .
interesting to know whether there were any provisions of the Covenant which might
‘ be considered to be contrary to Islamic laws or tenets., However, that was unlikely
to be the case., since the seinir ar sponsored by the Univ a'sity f ‘Kuwait in December
1980 had concluded that Islam was the first to recognize, ‘basic human rights and
almest 14 centuries ago had set up guarantees and safeguard.s that had only recently
been incorporated in universal declarations of uxnan rights. That was probably'a ‘
preference- to the Uriversal Declaration of Human .r ight nd the International Covenant
on Civil and Politicd Rights. The seminar had gone on tp conclude that ifl the IS1a Llc,
concept, human rights and freedoms were not attributed to Nature but were considered
to be gifts of God in accordance with the Islamic faith. That confers on them an
‘ add.ed. measure of veneration, prestige and sanctity, to protect them from inroads by
the ruling saithorities, lent them the qualities of.pompleteness and universality,
them inalienab1 and irrevocable. . . . ‘ ‘
‘ 71. ‘Since the courts of a country had an essential role to pla r in safeguarding the
rights of the, inaividual by ensuring remedies in the event of alleged violations of
those rights, it wculd be helpful If' the Committee could be given much fuller
information on the judicial system of Iran than was t l found in the report or in
the Constitution. It could be deduced front the Constitution that there was a
Supreme Judicial Council responsible for the creation of appropriate judicial
. organiz tjon , a Supreme Court of Cassation and an Administrative Justice Tribunal•;
. Furthermore, article 159 of the Constitution provided that there should be ,
“justice courts” to deal with litigation and complaipte. Presumably, in addition to
the Adminj tratjve Justice Tribunal, there were civil courts and criminal courts.
What courts, were there, and had there been, since the Revolution? Who were the
judges, and what qualificatibns must they have? How were they appointed? Had any
members of the former judiciary been appointed or had, they been replaced, possibly
, by judges with spocia qualifications in Islamic law?. Had there been, and. were there,
any, special courts to deal with the emergency situation created by the Revolution,
and in particular to deal with political or security offences?
72. Article 14 of the Covenant laid down the rules of due process of law designed'
to ensure tha.t the individual was given a fair trial. They were, in a sense, obvious
. and. elementary. b'evertheless, they were of great importance in the administration
of any system of justice. They guaranteed a fair and public hearing by a competent,
independent and impartial tribunal; the presumption that a person was innocent
until he was f und guilty; adequate time arid facilities for an accused person to
prepare his defence; the assistance of a freely chosen lawyer; the right to have
witnesses heard and examined; and also the right of anyone convicted of a crime to
have his conviction and sentence reviewed by a higher tribunal according to law. ‘
Had those requirements been duly observed in the courts since the Revolution?
u re, irnr in I r n . ., , ‘i-i-- -‘“ - ,
CCPR/C/SR .364
page 15
73. Article 6 of the Covenant dealt iith IIe right to life, which bad been
described as the supreme right. OEc representative of Iran, in his ppon2 ng.
comments, had drawn attention to a number of requirements lai4 do m. in the
Constitution which gave effect to that right. Article 6 of the Covenant prov2.ded,
inter alia,'that no one should be arhitrai i1y deprived of his life and lajd down
a n ber' of conditions for the usc of the death penalty, stating that it should be
imposed only for IIe most serious crimes, that it might not be imposed on persons
under the age of 1 or on pregeant women. FurIIerrnoro, in addition to the ri t
of appea 1 or review required by article 14, para. aph 5, of the Covenants
article 6, paragraph 4 rcquircd that anyone sentence to death shou .d have IIe
right ‘to seek pardon or commutation of the sentence. People ,in other. countries :
had been profoundly concerned at the number of executions — sometimes mass - : “ , .
exocut bns— reported to have been carried out in Iran since the Revolution. ‘‘
Nc reover, ‘ IIose executio is had taken place in a summary manner and wiIIout any.,. .
real opportunity foI appeal or review of the ponviction and sentence, required ,. :
by the Covenant. The concern felt had been all the greater because IIe executiop.s
had been taking place at & time when the trend in other countries was to a o -t b , ,
the death penalty. Indeed, many countries'had lready abolished th d.ea.t . pal ,ty.
even for the most serious offen eti. The Kuwait scmlnar to which he had re 'erre .
earlier had found that capital crimes were limited .nd carefully defined in Ie an'ic
law.' Political offences that were punishable by” death in zome St&te ierc dealt . . ,
with differently under Islamic law, which did not al1o z tbe death penalty. for ich
o fences. Was that so? If it was, how were the hundreds of exe ut ons which h d
been reported since the Revolution to be justified? For what offences was the
death penalty applied in Iran? Jas it over applied in the case of persons under
the age of 18? Had all the trials been conducted wi -tb the necessary guarantees
and safeguards, including the ri ht of z ppeal or review?
74. Article 7 of the Covenant prohibited the use of torture or of cruel, inhuman
or degrading treatment or punishment, and article 10, paragraph 1 required that all
persons deprived cf their liberty should be treated with humanity and with respect
for the inherent dignity of the human person. One of the serious charges against
the previous r gimo in Iran had been the use of torture by the police and security
services. Article 38 of the Constitution provided that any torture whatsoever to
make people confess or to obtain information should be forbidden. Such a straight
prohibition was necessary, but even a constitutional provision was not enough and
in that connection a number of nuestions arose. For example, what measures was IIc
Government of Iran no i taking to c:nsure IIat detained persons were not tortured or
ill—treated? .fl-iat regulations vere there concerning the trea ient of detained
persons and how was the enforcement of those regulations supervised? Were there
any arrangements for prisons and other detention centres to be visited by persons
who were independent of the prison authorities and who were empowered to receive
any complaints and to have them investigated? What procedures were available for
those purposes? How effective were they? Had any arrangements been made for
prisons and detention centres in Iran to ‘be visited by representatives of the
International Coumittee of the fled Cross. Those questions were questions which he
had put to the representatives of all reporting States who had appeared before the
Committee.
75. Article 9 of the Covenant contained a number of safeguards against arbitrary
arrest and detention. The report gave no information regarding the implementation
of those provisions, and it was important for the Committee to leiow how they were
complied with in Iran. The Committee's attention had been drawn to article 32 of
( :)‘ /C/ ..
r: . lC
II: Cor t tution ,hich containo I rtant provisions regarding personr who were
ccucd of criminal offenccs, but were there any persons detained for political or
scc.uri ty reasons without being brought to trial? l3ow many such persons were IIcro?
For how long had they been in custody? Under ‘ ihat legal authority were they
detained? Jere persons deprived of their libcrt2,' for what oever reason entitled
to take proceedings before the courts to have the lawfulness of their detention
determined, as required by article 9, paragraph 4 of the Covenant?
76. Article 18 of the Covenant required that everyone should have the ri t to
freedom of thought, conscience and religion, that no one should be subject to
coercion which would impair his freedom to have! or to adc t a religion or belief
of his choice, and that freedon to manifest one's religion or belief siight be
uLject only to such limitations cc were prc -ocr .bed h la't•; and were necessary to
protect r ublic safety, order, health, or morals or the fundamental ri ts d
freedoms of others. Article 27 of the Covenant also protected IIe ri ts 9!' .‘ :.
religious ninorities. The ri its of certain named minorities ‘ ;ere recognized by
article 13 of the Constitution. However, what was the position of other religious
minorities, including the BaJ .iais? A resolutiofl'adopted earlier in 1982 byIIe
United Hations Commission on Ilusnan flights contained a reference to the perilous
situation facing the Lahais in Iran, and it was known that a number of the leaders
of the Lahal faith in Iran had been executed, although it was one of the tenets of
their faith that they should not engngo in politics. That matter was of profound
inten tiona1 concern, and it would be appreciated if the representatives of Iran
could comnent on it. . ..
The oec-ctin rose at 1.5 .. .
g7 ..d' T 4':' i 1 —
L L LL 1 //-4J; r 1
7 ‘ T A !V'
OPI C ViL AND
‘ A 5 T(' !‘OE
;uttll 1
=-=—,- .- - ;= _ .-_= -.— • - ;:. -
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Di st r.
GEi EP.AL : 1 2 iPL
ENGLISH
Original: FRENCH
CCPR/C/SR.365
19 July 1982
iPLA N PLIGHTS COM/TTRE
Sixteenth session
SIOEB RY RECORD OF TRE 3 65TH I TING
Held at the Palais des Nations, Geneva,
on Thursday, 15 July 1982, at 3 p.m.
Chairman :
Mr. IiAVROlfl iATIS
later: Iir. C-RAEFRATH
CONTENTS
Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under article 40 of the
Covenant ( pntinued )
Iran ( pntinued )
This record is subject to cori'ection.
Coi'rections should be submitted in one of the working 1a.n a.ges. OEey should
be set forth in a menDrandum and also incoi orated in a copy of the record. They
should be sent within one week of the date of this docunent to the Official Records
Editing Section, room E.6108, Pala.is des Nations, Geneva.
Ar.y correctio to the records of the public meetings of the Committee at this
session will be consolidated in a single corrigendum to be issued shortly after the
end of the session.
CE.82--.1 1527
. 365
p•ei 2 . :.
Th meetirje was called -to order at 5.25 fl.m .
COS EF &TION OP REPORTS SL BI• ITT BY STLTE ?ART S TJ7 ER ARTICI 40 OF T}
CO EN 1TT (a zenda i.tem 4) ( continued )
Iran (CCPR/0J1/ dc .56) (con jnue ) . .
1. 1•: . T WcpCLS f wes retjfied that the' Iranian representative had confince
his c ening stetecacnt that a more detailed report would be submitted later. He was
aware of the difficulties Iran had faced in recent years and realized that after
any revolution tjj j was needed to enact legislation in every fi&ld. It was one cf
th duties of members cf the Committee -to assist States Per-ties to present their
reports and. it was with that in mind that he wished to ask a number of questions
concerning the ar licatic.n cf the Covenant in Iran.
2. With regard to article 1 of the Ccvenant concerning self—dete nination, he
asked whether information could be given in a future report on the Govera ent's
position with regard to certain minorities and the opportunities particularly legal
opportunities, cren to -them to achieve self—determination. With regard to article 2,
“a ‘orcared t e e act os tion of tne Cc ena”t was ir aonestic la Pros his
reading of the Constitution he gathered that in the event of conflict the Constitution
would prevail.
3. Article 2, paragraph 1 of the Covenant concerned the principle of
non—discrimination, which seemed -to •be the subject of article 19 of the Constitution.
He noted that the prohibited grounds for discrSmjnaticn listed did not include se: ,
religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or
‘ otoer status, all cf which were of great imoortance. the same connection, he
pointed cut that article 20 of the Constitution provided that all persons, both men
and women were ecual “under the protection of the law”, and not “before the law” as
was provided in article 26 of the Constitution which, with article 3, should be roa
in conjunction with article 2, paragraph 1. He would be grateful to know the
sigaificance of toe te ri equal under the protection of the law”, with particuie.r
reference to wcmer.'s rights, which were according to article 21 of the Constitutio—.
gcaranteed wi-ti-. due regard to Islamic precepts. Did the latter expression imply
some restricticn and did women have access on an equal basis with men to all forms
cf employment (toe civil service, -the judiciary, the ic-gal professions, the polica)?
Could they dress as they wj had and were they able to ra:'-ticipats in public life?
Finally, what iezislatjorj had been enacted to guarantee the a plication of article
of the Covenant. under which States Parties undertook to. ensure -the equal right of
man and women -to toe enjoyment of all civil and political rights?
4. With further reference to discrimination, he had some misgivings about re1igio :
discrimiratior , which was the subject of article 18 of tho Covenant and seemed to be
deal-t wito in articles 13 and 14 of the Constitution which referred to Zcroasffl aii, .
Jewish and Chrj tLan Iranians. He wondered whether that meant that -the aha'i w•c:c
not reccgaized under the Constitution and what their position was. He wondered aloe
whether a Muslim .:uld renounce his religion and become a cbnvert to another reli icn
or cease to have ny religious faith and whether the laws, which were said to he
ccPh/c/sR .365
page 3
based on the teachir s of the Koran, i rovidcd for the repression of renegades and
Baha'is. J cccrding to article 1 of the Constitution, the prinoi ie that Nuslims
should respoct the rights of non—I uslims tpli d to non—Muslims who did. not “r 1 ot
against Islam and the Islamic Rcpuhlic of Iran. He would like to know what the
:or5. “riot” meant in that ccntext since refusing to be a Muslim or being a missionary
might be considered as plotting against Islam.
5. Turning to the question of romedies (article 2, perag aph 3) he said. that he
would he arateful for further infri ation rogarding the jurisdiction of the Sta-te
Inspectorata General and. the i d cinistrative Court of Justice mentioned in the report
(Cc.PR/C/i/Ada.55). The relations of the two organs with other courts and their
legal status and functions were not made clear. Moreover, there was no reference
to remedies, which were essential in ensuring respect for human rights. It would
be helpful if the next report included information on the legal status of the
revolutionary guards, the revolutionary and the re;-elutionary courts and
their relationship with the ordinary courts. What was their jurisdiction and with
which offences did. they deal? What was their relationship with the ordinary poli ce
force and the ordinary courts? The .report referred to the proclamation of the
“Year of the Law” and the reduction of “the unavciiable disorders and discords
resulting from the ravolution”. The statement implied that there had. been disorders,
some of which mieht reasonably he surposed. to have been the fault of State officials..
,‘ Had suc.h cases ceen brought before the courts and if so what had been the outcome?
. Turning t article 4 of the Covenant, he had been glad to learn that article 79
of the Constitution had. n ver been invoked, a remarkable achievement in view of the
dafficuities Iran naa e oeriencoe. tates were of course entitled to. derogate from
some articles of the Covenant even in normal times (articles 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 and
12 and 14) but in the case cf articles 6 and. 7 icroga tion was never permissible.
He would. like to believe that the Iranian Govermoent had. never derogated from those
articles.
7. J rticle 6 of the Covenant called for a number of comments. There had been
reports in official Iranian newspapers and broadcasts cf executions, the number cf
which was unknc - •oo and. which had created anxiety throughout the human rights movement.
The internaticna community had. been ir ormed of ste tements by high ranking members
of the Iranian judiciary the authonticity of which ice would like to verify. For.
examcle, a senior judge had suggectcd that the organizers cf a particular demonstration
should rot be hrourht before the courts but should be put against a w 1l and shot.
he wonacrad wneo:oer statements. of tn t i ind re:.Lect oa the official position of the
Goverrr'ert aro not otner th l ac er of t 'c e i tion ‘ca 1 a
COPE/C/SR. 365
page 4
tho death ponelty imposed in Iran exclusiv ly for crimes wider the anel code? Were
th s provisions a. simple prolongation of the code in force under the fomoe?r r gime
or had. they been enacted by -the present r gime and were they ccu hed in sufficiently
explicit terms to enable everyone to know what he had to face?
9. Other members of the Ccmmitte: had. stressc-d the rtance of enabling anyone
sentenced to death to seek ardon. Commenting on article 110, Paragraph 6 of the
Cons tj-t -tjcp under which the leadership was empowered to rardon c nvict 5 or mitigate
their punishment, he asi:ed whether it was certain that each end every case was
submitted to the lead sr-ip. Ha was disturbed ‘by reports ‘that children under
16 years of aga had been executed. He wondered also .4 et v article 6, paragraph 5
of the Covenant prchib!-tiflE the execution of pregnant women was respected in Iran.
Finally ha asked whether steps had ‘been taken to abolish the death penalty or at
least to reduce the number of crimes for which sentence of death mieht be imposed.
10. Turning to article 7, : noted. that article 36 of the Iranian Constitution
forbade the use of torture to induce persons to confess or to obtain information and
asked whather those were the only cases in which torture was prohibited. H&d there
for example been instances in which torture had ‘been inflicted on persons regarded
as renegades? Did. citizens have to choose ‘between renouncing their faith ana death?
Had allegations cf torture been in/restigated and if so what had the results of the
investigation tean? If capital punishment was retained, the very least that could
‘be done was tc minimize the sufferings of persons put to death. In that connection
he asked whether stoning and. floggin - were still practised. He asked also whether
the right hands cf thieves were' still amputated', which was a penalty akin to torture
and thus contrary to article 7 of the Covenant'. . Finally he came to a question which
he asked the repres rt 4ves o a1l States Parties with regard to article 7 read in
conjui ction with articles 10 and 23. Were persons deprived of liberty able to
freely contact their families and. were there measures or laws prohibiting the holding
of prisoners incc'mmun1cac .c. and guaranteeing the right of detained persons to: have a
la rar? .
11. Turning to article 9 of the Covenant, which was to some extent covered by
rticle 32 of the Ccnstitutjon, he asked whether the revolutionary courts were
required to observe that article and whether all the recuirements of the article
(obligation t inform the accused. of the chargas against him, release on ‘bail and the
remedy f corrus ) were respected in all cases.
12. Turning to article 10 of the Covenant he asked whether Iranian law satisfied all
the requirei ents of paragraph 2 (a) and (b) and paragraph 3. ‘
13. Article 33 of the Constitution, like article 12 of the Covenan , prohibited ‘
exile but. the roviso “unless othe ise provided by law” called for e lanation in
vi w of its restrictive character. Ioreover, article 39 of th Constit tjcc-j rlainly
envisaged exile. There aeairi some explanataon was necessary.
CCPR/C/SR. 365
page 5
l! .. rtic1e 14 of -the Coveoant was subject to no restriction' exccDt in the case of
t 1'lic emergency. J s the report of Iran did. not give information or. the subject, he
asked how the inde end.ence of the judiciary, a rrinciple embodied in article 14,
ara ranh 1, was fc-g a-rded in Iran. He noted. that under certain circur. stances ‘.
jud os could 1 DO d zmissed (article 157). Hero there laws and re u1ations oVc-rning
such dismissals? lie noted that aoder article 163 cf the Constitution the ..
ualiicatiens of a judge were rcscri c d by law in acccrdance with ICoranic r cep s.
He wondered whether it was ossi'o1e for a Christian or Jew or a member of the eha'i
community to become a judge or whether it was essential to be a fluslim. . Vlith
reference to the right to a public hearing he inonired in what circumstances the
families of accused.' -oersons were entitled. to be present in c urt what o nortunities
accused. persons had in practice to see their la ers and the position of the .
bar association. it had ‘been reported that the president of the Tehran oa
association and a number of magistrates had. been arrested. rurther infois aticn /-iould
be welcome on the laws and measures adopted. to ensure that the accused's advocate and
near relatives could be present in court. Paragia h 3 (d) of the same article
referred to the accused's right to free leEal assistance if he had. insufficient means.
. Legal assistance seemed to be provided for in article 35 of the Constitution but
further information on the way in which the rule was apiDliod would be welcome.
Information, would. also be welcome on ractices n regard. to the examination of
witnossos and, with regard to article 14, para a h 5, the right to have, convictions .
and. s ntences reviewed, esPecially in the case of serious offences. Finally with
regard to comaensation in the event of a miscarriage of justice or the reversal of
conviction . (article 14, paragraph 6) he aslced whether it was true, s article 171 of
the Constitution seemed to suggest that compensation was only envisaged in cases
i iere e dge had. failed to corcader )ie rents of tne case nag'tly or had. made en
error. He wondered who decided whether a judge was at fault and what sig ificance
‘ was to be attached. to the phrase “responsjble in accordance with Islamic ractjce”?
15. Tu ning to article 15 of the Covenant, he asked under what laws persons were
tried for offences committed under the previous- government, having regard to the fact
that the Islamic Re ublic had not been able to enact many laws since taking power.
Turning to articleJ7, he asked. fcr further information on the application of
article 25 of the Constitution which prohibited. inspection of mail, the disclosure of
telephone conversation end. tele r s, teleuhone tapping, etc. eferning to
a ticle 23 of the Constitution, he asl:ed whether parents could determine the , ‘
education of their children in accordance with their opinions or whether they had no
such choice. P eiigious minorities in Iran did not appear to possess the religious
rlgJts mertiored _n a bicle 13 t e Coi .ena ,t. The suo eci —rat er of article 19 of
“ the Covenant was dealt with in articles 23 and 2it of the Constitution. Article 24
provided that the nress ‘ as free provided the matter written was not detrimental to
the inincip es cf Islam. The terms used were vague and. it woulcL he ameresting to
know what was meant. ‘ ‘
16. Hith regard to artic.l 20 it had already been mentioned that one law enacted
under the old r ime was still in f6rce but it scope should. be explained. The
rights set out im article 24 of the Covenant ere dealt within article 21 of the
Corst1t tiori : ould like to i no i /hot peragrapl 5 of tnst articlc rca .
Turning to article 25 of the Covenant, he wondered how the ni hts set out in that
article were saf ardecl in a state foi nd.ecl on religion. In that connection
co /c/sR.365
PaGe 6
article 64 of the Constituticii guaranteed the rights of a nurber of minorities,
Zoroastrians, Jews, Assyrian and Chaldean Christians, and north and outh Armenian
Chr st ans, but it might be asked why there was no provision for the Baha'i.
Finally with regard to the minority rights set out in article 27 of the Covenant, he
would like details on the situation in Iran. The information provided earlier by
Iran mentioned a eat many ethnic, linguistic, religious and other i ino iti 5 He
would like to know whether th e rinomities had schools and could use their own
lan ua a. In enera1 terms, he hoped that a frnitful dialcgue would be initiated
with the representatives of Iran so that the Comaittee could be proPerly informed of
the situation in Iran with regard to the rights set out in the Covenant.
17. Ur. DIEYE said that in view of the changes resulting from the change of r gime
in Iran the Conni tee had asked for a report so that it could consider whether
Iranian legislatic.n now confo1 ed to the requirements of the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights. . At the time the request had been made, there had been
many alai ing retorts concerning Iran. some of them from reliable sources. The
Iranian Government's response had. been positive, In New York the Iranian
Charg4 d'Affaires had appeared before the Committee to make a statement regarding the
Situation in Iran and in Bonn the Iranian Ambassado in the Federal Republic of
Germany had come to answer the Committee's ouestions. Unfortunately. th report
(CCPR/c/1/Ada.55) Iran had finally submitted, which was now before the Committee, was
not satisfacto -. The report, which had been very long awaited, was not / itten in
accordance with th guidelines conce ni g form and content set out in . ‘
document CCPR/C/20. He welcomed the collaboration which was being established with
the Government cf iran'but considered that the Committee would have to request
another more satisfactory and more detailed reoort.
18. He noted that in Iran Is1 was invoked to justify the revolutionary situation
and said that as a tracticing lIuslim he believed that religion should not enter into
the application of the Covenant. , Islam was undoubtedly a comprehensive reli on
governing all human activities but religion had. to be set aside when a country
acceded to an internatic)ial instrument. He regretted that a religion as pure as
I slam was being misrepresented and that the imression was being given that Islam
was not ada ted to the twe tjeth century. At the previous meeting it had even been
asked whether Islam was consistent with the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights z ii prece ts in conflict with the Covenant, such as for example a
denial of the caracity of women to bear witness, had been attributed to Islam. He
assured tho Ccmmi - ee that that interpretation of Islam was incorrect. Islam
respected human ri hts. civil, political, economic, social and cultural. Reports in
the media in Iran seemed to show however that the Iranian Government had little
res - ct for human rights. Observers began to wonder what human rights were not being
‘ violc ,ted in Iran. He hoped that information would be trovided to show that the
provisions of the Covenant were in fact respected in Iran.
19. He had two s ecjfic questions. The first related to minorities, whose right to
freedom of expression should be safeguarded by the Constitution even if they were not
Huslims. In thc Coamission on Human Rights, the Iranian Delegation had. disqualified
some minorities on the grounds that they had had connections with Savak under the
previous r gime. owever that night be, the Committee should os tola whether all
CCPR/C/SR. 365
: ac 7
minorities had freedom of exnrecsicn in Iran. The second dcn 1ate: . to
and triaL He /Tis!led to know whether th assistance of counsel was T ar ced from
the moment of arrest and whether hoarinrrs were p .1:1ic. vc-n in closed nrcoee•
counsel for the defence nust he entitled to be rresent. Some i ‘orm tion received
s ggcste IIat &hcce yraciel sac' aias -i—nb not h ocserve i - 11r
opinion might however ‘cc nisinfoied anti in that cese the Iranian rerrc-sent.atives
should indicate whether the facts were different and whether the :rocc-d'ure were in
conformity with the Covenant He hoped the Committee would receivr 1 1 -
raulic-s an t woulo. estaolish fru t u1 cc—onera ion wa h the Government of Ir .:.
20. i:r, LRiIACORA expressed ri'ot that tile report (cCP /c/1/; t1d. ) did net reflect
the difficulties of imi lementation of the Covenant in Iran. OEe re ort should skew
how far a system of human rights was incorporated in the Iranian Constitution. In
Iran, religion was interpreted in a succific way and the legislation was entirely
based on Islamic standards, which migk cause problems, parti :ularly with regar . to
the implementation of articles 2 to 5 of tile Coven nt. The principle of
‘ or—cliscii- ination embodied i' e Cov rant rcqulrec' a oe .'lti—relig ouc reg e
idthough article l . of the Iranian Constituticn referred to Islamic eruity, the
article was only valid in the case of those who did not engage “in any. plottin
whatsoever against Islam and the Islamic ilepublic of Iran”. It was necessary to
know what that provision metnt in relation to article 5 of the Covenant. .. .
21. He requested clarification on the relationship between articles 22, 24, 27, 32,
33, 34 and 38 of the Iranian Constitution and the provisions of the Covenant.
Article 22, for example, stated that the prestige, lives, propercy, rights, dwelling
places and occupations of the people should be immune against encroachment “unless
otherwise provided by law”. That proviso, like the provisos in the other articles he
had referred to, gave rise to misgivings about the possibility of interprct ng the
Constitution in cor.fomity with the Covenant • Article 38 forbade ‘ 1 any torture
whatsoever to induce people to confess or to obtain information”. The article was
not in conformity with th no—torture clause in the Covenant, which was general and
unrestricted. .
22. Article 150 stated that tile Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps would continue
to perform its role in safe arding the revolution and its outcome. He wished to
know whether the guards observed State orders and hOw their actions related to the
rights embodied in the Covenant. He would welcome clarification of the way in
which the provisions concerning the administration of justice in article 156 were
anpliecl by the military courts. He hoped tile representatives of Iran would
understand the misgivings of members concerning the application of the Covenant in
Iran id would remove those misgivings by answering the many questiohs asked.
23. Hr. AGUILJ noted that States which became Parties to the Covenant had to make
a number of commitments, including those under article 2, aragraphs 1 and 2. The
drafters of the Covenant had estal)llShOd a system to elcenre observance of the
Covenant, including the Human Rights Committee, which was composed of rersons of
high moral character with recognized com letence in the field of human rights, and
rerresentative of the various geographical regions and forms of civilization and the
principal legal systems. The Committee's main function was to cei oidc r the- reports
of States Parties, which were intended to review factors affecting the implementation
of the Covenant, as well as progress made. It would have been useful therefcre to
receive inforn:aticzi concerning the difficulties encountered in Iran following the
revolution, since the difficulties would have exulained any violations of hunan
. rights tb t might have taJ e' lac.e although they wculd riot justify ]1c1: . .
cCPR/c/.365 .
page E
24. A dialogue between the Committee and the representatives of reDorting
States was helpful to other States Parties and was designed to promote uniform
lmplenentation of the provisions of the Covenant in all States Parties. Given
the fact that the dialogue was useful to all, the relevance or othcn-,ise of the
questions asked was a secondary issue. The questions or comments of members
could not be interpreted as reflecting political or other positions, still less
as condemnations. The Committee was not a court bc-fore which States had to
appear. The sole purpose of the questions addressed to the Iranian delegation
was to provide the Committee •ith information about the situation in Iran so
that it could help Iran to make progress in the observance of h an rights.
25. He noted t: at the Covenant was in the last analysis a subsidiary instrument
for ensuring the Drotectioi of human rights in a country when domestic machinery
for that purpose did. not work. He was thinking in particular of the guarantees
provided in article 14. The absence of an independent and competent judiciary
shielded from pressures and the lack of appeals procedures were likely to encourage
violations of human rights. .
26. Nr. Graefrath took the Chair . , .
27. 1 ir. JANCA observed that most of the questions addressed to the Iranian
delegation would not have been asked if the re crt had fo11ow d the Committee's
guidelines for the submission of reports and showed that Iran should provide the .
Committee with additional information. .
28. om the documents communicated by Iran, it was difficult to see which
legislative or other measures guaranteed the implementation of the Covenant.
Although the Constitution made many references -to human rights, it was worded in
such general terms that it did not answer the Committee's -questions. Was everyone
arrested in Iran informed of the reasons for his arrest? In a trial did the
accused have the' free assistance of an interpreter if he did not speak Persian?
29. The Committee had no information on the relationship between inter atjonal
treaties and Iranian legislation and between the Covenant and the legal system,
since the relevant provisions of the Constitution were not clear on that point.
Could a court base its decision directly on the Covenant or had it to rely
exclusiyely on national legislation? . .
30. Article 19 of the Constitution stated that the people of ffla whatever ethnic
or tribal group the - might belong to should enjoy equal rights and complexion,
race, language and the like should not be considered as a privilege. Although
the article listed many prohibited grounds for discrimination, it was more limited
in scope than article 2 of the Covenant. Were there laws forbidding discrimination
on grounds other than those referred to in the Constitution? . .
31. Had any progress been made in regard to women's rights? iat was the
proportion of women in legislativ and judicial bodies and other organs of the
State? Were they allowed to teach or practise medicine? .
32. The Committee would require clarification on some of the terms used in the
I Constitution, such as “Islamic precepts” (article 2(i).
33. Lastly, referring to article 27 of the Covenant, which concerned minorities,
he said that it would be interesting to know, inter alia , which minorities .
existed in Iran, how many people belonged to minorities, and what their rights were.
ccPH/c/ .365
page 9
34. -. ECUZIRI endorsed 1r. Itguilar's comments on thc composition of the
Committee and. the individual character of its membErs' statements, which resulted
from the diversity of their backgrounds. He believed that he himself was a
“third wor1der ' with very vivid memories of colonization. H noted that in
introducjn the r - ort the representative of Iran had fuxnis:ed new and u eful
material. .
35. After drawing attention tc articlel, paragrarh 3, henoted. that reports
submitted to the Committee frequently gave the impression that States considered
article 1 to be merely general, whereas in fact it was a fundamental and extremely
speeiffi 'prcvj j 0 on which all the rights e:. bodied in the Covenant were based.
Since Stat s Pa ties were supposed to take steps to ‘ nsure implementation of the
Covenant, they hould encourage implementation of the right of peoples to
self—determ nat cn. That being so, he was distressed by the situation in Lebanon,
which had been invaded without justific tion by the zionist, colonialist and .
ex-cansionis army which was in the process of committing genocide there. What was
the Iranian Government doing to promote the right of the Palestinian and Lebanese
peoples to self—determination? Why had the Iranian Government not accepted the
cease—fire proposed by Iraq, so that Iraq ould go and fight the Israelis? Why
had Iranian troops not come to the aid of the Palestinian and Lebanese peoples
now that the Iraci army had withdrawn fi om Iran?
36. Tur ing to t1 e report submitted by Iran under article 40 of the Covenant, .
he noted that it was not drafted in accordance with the idelines published by
the Coomittee in document CCPR/C/20 of 19 August 1981. There was no specific
informatjon on theimpleIIentation of human rights in Iran,' from either the
legislative, re .ilatory r practical point of view. The Iranian Constitution'
contained prdv5sos' hich appeared t coi travene the provisions of the Covenant,
but without knowledge of the laws enacted ‘to' apply the constitutional provisions
‘ it was impossible to judge whether that was the case or not.
37. The IIfo -ma- jon received from other sources was most alarming. There were
reports of persecution, hurried trials and summary executions. In the circumstances
members anxiously awaited the Iranian de1e atio answers t their questions.
The Iranian people had id itself of a monarchy which had trampled human rights
underfoot. ‘ogressive people had hailed the Iranian revolution as the harbinger
of a new era. They were now waiting for assurances that would remove their
misgivings and information that /• ould give them a better understanding of what
was happening.
38. I . HAHGA endorsed the questions already asked by members and said that he
wished to add some of his own. .
39. Article 19 of the Iranian Constitution referred to “ethnic or tribal groups' t .
Those so ial rou s obviously had ‘special customs. He wondered whether there was
‘ any system of cu omary law in Iran and, if so, what was the relationship bet 'een
traditional 1a : and human rights. . . .
40. Youth was a :-eal unifying force in a divided world. Young people had civil
and political rdmh-ts and should be helped to be :r ade aware of them. 1985 was to
be International Youth Year according to a General ! ssenbly decision. Iran would
undoubtedly be ra.rticinating in the events plar.ned for that occasion, and he
would like to knc- 4 : what the Government was doing currently to make young people
aware of their rizhts. .
‘-,.. -‘ — L LL.LU U
CcP /C/SR . 365
page lb
41. Article 23, paragraph 4 of the Covenant provided for the equality of spouses
in marriage. .Sir ce the Iranian family was based cm parental authority, it. ould
be helpful to know whether the husband, the wife or both spouses exercised
parental auth rity ‘ ?id whet principles goi erned the custody of childrpn in the
event of dissolution of a m rria 'o' . Article .2 of the Covenant provided that
every child shouj.d be registered immediately after bi th and should hav a name.
There had been a law in Iran which met that obligation. He wished to know
whether it was still extant and what the current, regulations governing civil
status were. . .. . .
42. In its report the Govcrnmdnt of Iran rofe 'red to the recent establishment
. of an administrative court of justice. It appeared to be an administrative
tribunal but he would like to know the procedure for a plaintiff to bring his
case before the court and what kind of cases were admissible. The Govei nmant
al o referred to an act establishing judiciary pplice. Further inf rn ation .
concerning the technical, political and moral criteria governing the recruitment
of police p onnel would be welcome. ,
43. At the end of the report, reference was made to bills aimed at the just
distribution of ‘wealth and the prevention of exploitation in general. Since
they were only bills, he askdd what steps the Government had already taken to
eliminate the e; ploitation of man by man. What legislative or administrative
measures had it taken to encourage, for example, narticipation by the general
public in major productive enterprises? , . .‘
44. lastly, the report referred to a new social and political order. In its
external.aspocts, that nowstate of,affairs :JCS certainly linked to the ‘ ‘
international order. From that point of view, what role did Iran intend to ‘
play in'. the establishment of a ‘new international economic order? . .
. 45. Hr. L DO'JRI said that although he sat in the Committee in a personal
capacity and not as a representative of the Government of Iraq, he felt bound
‘ to protest strongly against the fact that the reoort submitted by th Government ‘
of Iran cast a slur on'his country and.more specifically its President. Before
, a State was accused, it should be.given the pos ibility pf answering the charge
as was the cas in other international organs, Differences of opinion between
States Parties were covered by article 41 of th Covenant, the provisions of
‘ which had to be ratified separately. H wever, neither Iraq nor Iran had done SO.
46. Article 1 of the Covenant embodied the right of peoples to self . ..deternination.
However, several statements by. religious nr politicel leaders in Iran advocated
the export of the revolution, which appeared to be contrary to article. l.and:.the
closely related principle of non interferencc in ‘the internal affairs of States.
47. Article 27, which referred to ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities was'
also related.to article 1. It was well known thot there were Kurdish, Turkonan,
,‘ Ealuchi and Arab graups in Iran who could claim to be recognized as special .
, minorities under Iranian law. If the pres nt Government r cognizcd minorities,
he would like to know how their rights, were impl ment d. .
‘ . ‘ ,.
CCPRIC/SR 365
pat, 11
48. Articl s 3 and 25 of th Covenant laid thL foundations for tha principlu
of oquality. Article 12 of the Iranian Constitution, howov r, laid down that
the State religion of iran was Islam, Jafari Ithna Ashari s ct, and article 115,
! which rcforr,.,d to thiL ,loction to the prusLdency, provided that the Prdsidnt
of' the Rupubli: must follow the Statu religion of thu country, in other words
. the Jafari Ithna Ashen sect. OEos., provisions waru contrary to IIi articles
ho had referred to.
49. Ru endorsed all the questionj asked by his colleagua in the Comittee, but
uould like to asic somc, himself. With rdgard to equality betw on men and women,
particularly from IIu point of view of articles 3, 25 and 26 of the Covenant,
ho asked whether women could occupy political or jurisdictional posts and, if
so, in what proportion. Similarly, he would like to know the p ircentage of
. girls in educational institutions at the various levels. In that context, the
. npresentativc 4 s of the Government of Iran might confirm that Iranian universities
had been closed for three years, which was obviously contrary to thu provisions
. of thu Covencnt.
: 50. Articles 6 and 14, which concerned the right to life and justice, were, so
to speak, the cornerstone of the Covenant. OEure were, howavur, extremely
: alarming rumours concerning Iran. Earlier in the year, the Comoission on
; Human Rights had already expressed its profound concern regarding p:rsistont
ruports of serious violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms in Iran
. and had urged tije Iranian Government to guarantee the rights recognized in the
Covenant to everyone in its territory. It was true that Iran was in a state of
revolution arid in an acrgency situation with problems of all kinds, but its
official reprosc ntatives had every opportunity to provide II:j necessary explanations.
If the rumours concerning the internal situation in Iran uere false, they could
sot the record straight and explain exactly what was happening in their country.
. 7$ meeting rose at 6 p.m .
.
..
INTERNATIONAL
CVVEN4NT
ON f VJL AND
POLITICAL RIGHTS
Distr.
GENERAL JUL 2 7 ? ?
CCPR/C/SR.366
19 July 1982
— -. .- . - -: - - — - -: —:• :-. - -—.
HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE — •. . -: - - -
Sixteenth session
SUMMARY RECORD OF THE 366th MEETING
Held at the Palais des .Nations, Geneva,
on Friday, i6 July 1982, at 10.30 a.m.
Chairman : Mr. FIAVROMMATIS
later :
PRADO VALLEJO
CONTENTS
Consideration of reports
Covenant ( continued )
submitted by States parties under artic1e
Organizational and other matters lc.ontinued ) ..
This record is subject to correction.
40 f the
Corrections should be submitted in one of the working languages. They
should be sot forth In a memorandum and also incorporated in a copy of the record.
They should be sent within one week of the date of this document to the Official
Records Editing Section, room E—6108, Palais des Nations, Geneva.
Any corrections to the records of th public meetings of the Committee at
this session wfli be consolidated in a single corrigendum to be issued shortly
after the end of the session.
Original: ENGLISH
GE . 2—1 1534
—
The meetiri was cal1 d to ordcr at 10.40 a.m .
CONSIDERATION F PORTS SDBMITTED BY LkTDS P h . IDS U1 DER kRTICL :40
OP TJ C0/E! ij! T (agenaa item 4) (continue ).--. .
Iran . (cpptinued ) (ccpn/c/l/i dci.5s) . .
1. At the invitation of the Chairman, Mr. IIosroshaki, Ni'. Mahallati ,
- Mr. Enayat, Mr. Jalali, Mr. Givi and Mr. Nikain (Iran) took tlaces at the
Committee table . -
2. Mr. B0D2 I said that in shortening his statement at the previous meeting in
order to save time, he had inadvertently omitted a sentence, which he wished to place
on the record to avoid misunderstanding. .
3. As regards the obligation of States Parties under article .1, para raph 3, the
fact that certain countries, MheIIer or not they were Parties to the Covenant, such
as some Arab countries, had-been unwillin or unable to comply with their duty of
solidarity towards the Lebanese or Palestinian peoples should not prevent or excuse
other States Parties from fulffihlinE theiT obligations mder the article to promote
the realization of the right of the Lebanese and P .J stiniab peoples of self—
determination. . . . - .,
4. Mr. T L SCHAT welcomed the delegation which the Iranian Govei ment had sent to
the Committee, thus demonstrating its interest in the proceedings, and hoped the
spirit of co—operation thus manifested would extend to the substantive issues.
5. Previous speakers had stressed were speaking as delegates of ..
their countries, but members of the Committee were not simply act •i • their .
personal capacity. The Committee had been established by all, the Sta tes Parties. t,o .
the Covenant and, as such, its members were . ot representing specific partial aims of
their own but aiming at fulfilling their duty to the international community by
upholding the tenets of the Covenant.
6. in considering the Iranian report, he started from a basic premise that, in the
field of human rights more than elsewhere, it was deeds and not words that mattered.
OEe previous day, the Iranian delegation had. drawn the Committee's attention to
various articles of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran but nothing had
been said about actual practices. The Committee needed to 1 iow whether the principles
of the Constitution found reflection in reality. The Committee was not an academic
body whose interests were confined to legaltexta. Its duty under the Covenant was
to inquire into relevant facts which would enable a judgement to be made as to
whether the obligations of the Covenant had been observed or breached.
CCPR/C/SR. 366
page 3
7. Like most of his col1ee ues, he had received.reports from outaide.aources. ....In
general, they did not make comfortable reading. ne such i-sport, which he would make
available to the Iranian delegation, had been prepared by an association for the
protection of minority rights and soberly set out., article by article, ‘alleged. .
inconsistencies between the articles of the Covenant and the prevailing situation in
Iran. . .
8. The impression that the Covenant was an instrument which would i mpede. a y kind
of revolutionary transformation of society would be entirely false. The Covenant
did net prescribe or preclude the r ginie of property. Nor did it run counter to
religious conviction. C the contrary, it offered protection for any kind of
relielon or faith. It was thereforefully compatible with a constitution stating
that religion should be upheld in all sec:tors of public life provided that members
: of other religious communities were not discriminated against. In such matters, the
Covenant allowed a wide margin of political d4scretion and merely provided a
framework of basic human rights which must be respected in any event.
9. Be himself did not believe that the secular ethic of the Moslem !aith could not
be reconciled with the Covenant: the Covenant reflected convictions and beliefs held
in common by all the major forms of civilization and that view had been confirmed
by the conclusions of a recent seminar, held in Italy, on human rights and the
Islamic civil justice System. . . . .
10. The Preamble to the Covenant stated that its tenets were based on recognition
of inherent human dignity. That meant IIat co one forfeited his human dignity by
cormiittir g criminal deeds, even less by opposing his Government. He had bee i .
comforted to hear that Iran considered itself bound -by the Covenant and. had noted
that it had not avaii.ed. itself under article 4 bf the opportunity to proclaim any
derogations from the normal r gime. lie had gathered, however, from the Iranian
representatives! statement, that in case of confliot -between the Covenant .and domestic
Iranian law, Iranian law would prevail. It was the view of the Co nittee, however, .
that the principles of the Covenant were paramount arid any inconsistency between the
two should be remedied. Was there —any kind of body in the Iranian Government which
bad examined the Covenant in ‘relation to the rules in force in Iran to see if there
were inconsistencies and recommend what should be done if there were?
11. Morecver. the Covenant should be publicized in every country so as to become
its living constitution. Every ‘citizen should be provided with a copy. Ee
therefore wondered if efforts had been made by the lranian Government to publicize the
Covenant. In particular, was there a version in the Farsi language? Bad the
Government undertaken a process of .ad -ueat.i'on in-human rights involving all levels of
government, including the Bead of -State himself? : .
12. Of the basic pillars supporting hum nri ht ,- tb? oeost important were the courts
or tribunals. The relevant articles of “the Zranian Constitution (articles 156 to 174)
were impressive, but he would like information ‘as to what extent the operating
CCP / /S .3(6
pa . :.
tribunals in Iran wer: based on those provisions. What organic laws had..translated. .
the provisions tf the O r tit tion into• b.r&inary rules?. In particular, w iat was ;he
legal basis for thc revolutionary tribunals? During the first months after the
revolution, acc .crd.ing to reports,. they hid seemed. mc 2ikc spont neou ath rin s ..
in ‘the street. ‘He was conffident that t oh was not now the case,. but the Cormaittee
would like to be sure. Had a new code of criminal procedure been issued and., if .
so, could the Coc ittee have the text? How were the courts manned? With trained ‘
lawyers nd judges, or did they .many laymen? , . , . .
13. The position cf the legal profession was of par ount importance in ... .
safeguarding human rights. J ticle 14, paragraph 3 (t) stated that an accused:persc'n
should have adequate time and faciliti s' for the preparation of his defence and to
cornIIunicate with counsel of his own IIoosin -. Was .that right available in Iran? :
He would also like infc ation on the organization of the legal rcfession. Did. .
defence lawyers need a special authorization by .the• Government? Bad the Teheran Bar
Association ‘been suspended.? He had heard. that lawyers were reluctant to defend
opponents of the Government and inquired whether that was true. Ho therefore wondered
whether ‘there were sufficient lawyers, in Teheran in particular, ‘to whom a person .,
could have recourse for the defence of his rights. . .
14. The effective enjo ent of political and civil ri ht.s rested on several other ‘
factors, one of which was a free press. He asked how many newspapers existed in Iran
and in Teheran. Was it possible for anyone to establish a newspaper and. would a person
wishing to express views opposed to those f the Government obtain authorization to
establish a newspsmer if authorization was he essary'? Would. ‘it :be possible ‘for a
‘ person to join a political party or association whose aim as to voice ‘dissent nd ‘
advocate guiding rrinciples for o1itioal'.actioriother -than those held by the present
Government? . : ‘ ‘ : ‘ , ;
i5. ‘ nother pillar of h nian rights ene'bri ed in ‘the Oovenarrt' was the principle . f
rule of law.' That meant, in addition to legal precepts, ‘that ‘ the individual ci i'z?n
should feel certainty and security. ‘ Be would like ‘Turthe enii htenment as to how
the precepts of the Islamic faith were reflected..'in ‘law. Was it possible for an
Iranian citizen to disagree i ith what ‘tho Nosl.e :ethic ‘theme prescribed as law? ,
‘ Be doubted whether the ordinary citizen was able to interpret ‘the ‘Koran in that way
and considered that there should ‘be a written code available to all citizens. For
‘ instance, he had heard that capital pnnishmant'had been imposed'.f or very vaue offenoes
such as “corruption on earth”, ‘war on God”, 11 war on God.' a property”. Without an
e lanation, the cndinary citizen would ‘.not ‘ a ow what such cffenoes meant. ‘
‘ 16. rtic1es 7 and 10 of the Covenant ref er ed o the treatment of'arrested persons
, and those in prison. In view of the repo 'tsbfil1—treatrneflt ‘in Iranian. prisons, he
suggested that the Government should establish.a prison inspection service. Prison
inspectlon boaras need not necessarily ‘oonsist n1 r' f DLaclals and-the assistanCe
of private citi e -s could be enlisted.
CCPR/C/SR. 366
page 5
17. rticle 150 cf the Iranian C tjtutj 0 referred to the Isla mic Revolution y
Guards and stated that IIeir functions nd responsibilities would be determ.ined by law.
In view of the recorts of arbitrary arrests by the evolutionary Guards, he would
like information as to whether such a. law had been enacted ahd wheIIer the
Revolutionary Guards had authority to ‘ rrest citizens. v/ho ensured the d1sci line
of the Guards and what, in fact, was their precise'status? . “ . ‘ . .
- -. . ..,., ‘‘ .
1 16. Of the many other reports which had reached the outer world from Iran hewo ld
mention just one more. It had been alleged that Bahai marriages were nQt reco -iized
in Iran and that birth certificates had been denied to children of Bahais,. Such
treatment, if true, would appear to be contrary to the provisions of article 23 of the
( Covenant and he would like the Iranian representatives to co ent upon the allegations.
10 In conclusion, he hoped the representatives of Iran would not.consider their task
-‘.
to be merely to reject as many of the charges as possible. Obviously, to the extent
that unfounded suspicions had been expressed, such allegations should he denied. But
there would certainly remain many elements of doubt. It seemed to him that the
concern expressed in the Committee ehould be reported to the highest authorities in
Iran and, in particular, to the Bead of State himself, since under article 107 of the
Constitution his powers were extremely wide and •he was therefore co etent to taize
action to remedy some of the shortcomings and deficiencies mentioned. OEe dialogue
which ha.d been started was not an -end in itself but should lead .to progress being made.
20. Mr. Prado Vallejo took the Chair . , . . . .
21. lIr. GRb R.L remarked that it was three years since the representative of''Iran
had informed the Committee that the repo ts ‘subIItted by the ‘ormer ‘ r gime :did not
reflect the reality of IIe situation in Iran regarding the status of civil ‘and
political rights, and that his -cotintry -‘was paas'ing”tbrough a revol'utionary rocess .
which was laying the foundations ‘of a riew oci t . OEe structure of that society
‘ was reflected in the -Constitutional -Law cf-khetslamic Republic.' ree' rears' aE ‘a
long time to wait fcr a report -but ;‘as a short eri6d ‘for affecting a revolutionary
change in a society. It was not the first time the Conm'iittee ‘had had to wait for
three or more years for a report even in situations where there were no reasons,
certainly no ‘evolutionary change, justifying the delay. ,
22. OEe Iranian report was narrower in scope than article 40 of the Covenant envisaged.
Reports should not be copiined -to laws and re ulations but should also describe the
measures adopted to give effect to the ‘rights ‘reco iized in the Covenant arid -the
progress made in their enjoyment. OEey should provide information relating to the
actual situation. The Committee had on a ‘number of occasions had to draw the ‘
attention of States Parties to the fact that their reports were limited to a ‘
description of laws and regulations and in ‘the ,se of a country undergoing a
revolutionary process it was particularly 0 1 th2t the report should not be so
cc H/c/sR. 366
race 6
circumscribed. linch factual iaforrLation was required for a proper understanding .‘
of what was going on in Iron; unfortunately, the report did. not contain enough
of ouch informbtion and even the reference to the newly -enacted ‘basic 1a -rs ns —
very general. He woo, sure that following its delegation's meeting iith the ..:.
Conunittee, the Covernment would provide a more detailed picture of the extent to
which the ideas contained in the Constitution were reflected in the daily life of
the Iranian people. . - . -
23. It was more difficult to consider the Iranian report than those of ether
States Par-ti s because it was impossible to ignore the fact that there had been
a revolution in Iron. ‘He would like to im cv ho' i far the revolutionary' process :
‘had influenced the human ri - ts situation in the country and what were its effects
in relation to the Covenant. He accoc'iated himself with other members who had
asked ouesticns designed tc obtain more detailed information regarding newly ,
enacted laws and their enforcement. . . . .
24. For the first time the Committee was considering a report submitted by a -.
country undergcin a rerciutionary process; the relationship between revolution ,
arid law had re ccuDiei lawyers for centuries .becaus in all oases ‘revolutions .
had created their own law. The Iranian report referred to the particular ,
characterjstjc of the Iranian revolution and he would be glad if the --Iranian
‘delegation could. explain their understanding of the relationship between the
revolution and the Covenant. Livery revolution had its own laws. It was -at--on ‘
and the same time an instrument for destroying-
establishing- another ‘ -riII its own values and ideas of legality, It was a,. ..
manifestation of the exercise of a-people ‘ right to self—deter netio.; e , -.
people would enforce its will with such means -as it -had at its disposal or wh .ich ‘ ...
were necessary or unavoidable in IIe circumstances in- o 'c1er to overthrow the -..
old system, hone f the great revolutions, had een acbieved :ai ly by
of declarations. The Declaration of fluman Rights of the - Fr ch Bevoluti on .:.:
had not prevented the establishment of revolutionary -tribunals. . It was clear -‘--: ‘ -
from history tha.t a revolution necessarily -hal ta influence on :the , content -of: ‘
a legal order and the administration -of justice. In-.a - -ay, end at certain times,
the revolution itself might be the administration of justice. , - It was inevitable
therefore that a revolution i-;ould influence the-. i 1ementation of such an
instrument as the Covenant. It was difficult .to imagine how a revolution could
‘be carried cut by following the legal procedures b.f the Covenant. For those : ‘
reasons, -he would Jike more detailed information from the Iranian Government on ,
the revolutionary -oz'ocess itself. - ‘ .-‘. - .
..
4 .
CCPR/C/SR.366
pegs 7
25. The Covenant did not explcitly refer to revolution, as it. did for example to
emergenoy situ tio s, but a revolutionary process which gave rise to considerable
cha.nge could be understood as .IIe exercise of the right -cf self—determination, a
right which the Covenant recognized as a, Tight of all people. In •tha.t aense
revolution would be. recognized by the Covenant -as a. law—creating proce s. • Anv
revolution would be bound to create its ‘own law and . - .egal order, :‘out it-.reguired time
to establish that order. ,‘ . . . . . - . , . . .,
26. The Iranian reDort (CCP /c/1/. cici.58) raised the question of the relationship :
between the Cbvenan and' the ravol tf ria.ry piocess ‘ . Ti'eve
that the Covenant was ever intended to put the right of
straitjacket of individual rights or that it could ever succeed in doing so. .
Article 1 might ir a sense be unde sfE da.s servat lbn.
27. Commenting on the statement on page 3 of the re o'rt” t1 t ‘re oOEtio Ir and
the newly established Islamic Republic were t .rgetsIrom all sides and IIe. ieroic
nation was bent on defending ts h nour and existence, he said that such a. situation
might be regarded as justification for a state of emergency, a. decla.ra.tion under ‘
article 4 of the Covenant and a possible derogation fro cer 'ri s. ‘No u'dh “
declaration of a state of emergency ha.d however been made. That might ‘lead on to ‘
consideration of the relations between article 1, the process ‘ f revdlutionazjdhange,
and the possible suspension of rights in connection with emergency measures. What
was possible for a Government under a. state of emergency should -be at least equall.y
possible for. a people in the process of revolution. The Covenant wa-s su e ,y not
intended as en instrument to be used against the constitution of a State .— or age.in
as an inst iment to preserve the status quo. .
28. It would appear that the report. was referring on page 4 to exa.ctly that point,.
when it explained that a. general review of old laws had been ,necessary bec use 11 the
laws which for long years had governed the deprived people of the country had been
enacted in such a way. as .to bu ng about the domination of a. ;small group. ‘ .iie :5 e4
whether the Government of Iran had ever envisaged making a. declarati6 id ticle 4
of the Covenant and why such a step ha.d never been taken in spite of the revolutionary
process and in spite of the ‘atate nf war. . . .
29. Mr. ?I3VCF LN said that he associated himself with members who had welcomed the..
Iranian delegation. The Iranian report indicated tha.t its authors were well
acquainted with the Covenant. Part of articie .40, paragraph 1, was quoted on page 2
of, the report, but paragraph 2 required •-re orts to indicate -the factort and' ‘.
difficulties affecting the implementation of the, Covenant. Members had referred . q
the internal difficulties d irg. -a- -revolutiona.ryproc.ess that might lead to
difficulty in submitting a report. There.might.a.lso be external difficulties .
affectiri,g the preparation of a report s had -been seen in the case of Jordan. OEe
‘, purpose ‘of submitting reports was not cnl r:.: o. assist ‘States Parties in the
implementation of their obligations under the..C venant but also to enable the
Committee to ct-tam an accurate picture of the ‘way the provisions of the Covenant
were ‘being implemented not only by legislation but also by other measures as
indicated in article 2, paregraDh 2.
.
•
CCPR/C/SR.366
page 8
30. The Iranian representative had conveyed additional information in his statement.
However, without more detailed information he felt unable to ask questiora without •the
risk of misunderstanding. He did not wish to base questions on hearsa.y -or v.n.fo nded
allegations because it was understood that the Committee .ehould !base it questions on
the report of e State Party or on United I ations ocumentatinn. OEe comprehensive
report promised by the Iranian delegation would provide the occasion for questions,
and he was anxious to know when that report would be submitted. . :
31. Kr. O osroshahi, Mr. Mahallati, Mr. Enayat, Mr. Tala i, Kr. Givi and
ilr. Nikein (Iran) withdrew . . . . . , .
. .
OEe meeting was suanended a.t 11.50 a.m. arid resumed a.t 12.20 -p.m . .
‘ 32. Mr. Tornuschat took -the chair . . .
ORGAETZATIONAL A1 D OT} R IL&TT RS (agenda item 2) ( 6ontinued ) . .
The introduction cf Arabic as ‘a workin 1a.ngua. e
33. Mr. AL DOUPI referred to the General Assembly and .Economic ‘and Social Councfi
commendetions concerning the introduction of Arabic as a. .vorking lang iage in .
subsidiary organs cf the United Nations end said -that it was important that the
‘ Committee s work ohculd he made known in the 20 or more countries which made up the
Arabic—speaking world. OEat could only be done through the dissemination of the
Committee's ‘basic docune ts and of records in Arabic. ‘ There would, of course, be
financial implications, but they were a matter for the States Parties rather then
for the Committee. All the Committee needed to do was to make a simrle
‘ recommendation; it would then be for the General .Assembly or for the “States Parties
to take a final decision. . ‘ ‘ . ‘ ‘ . ‘
. ‘ ‘ ‘ . . .S ..
‘ 34. OEe CHkIRNU inquired whether there was a.n s.greed rabic :tra.n lation of the
Covenant. . ‘ . .. . . ‘ ‘ .
35. Mr. HOUS It .i i (Representative of the Secretary eneral) replied that an Arabic
translation of the Covenant had been made and had been published in Cairo. The
document needed to be reprinted. : ‘ ‘ ‘ . . ‘ —
36, Mr. ANkBT, W : (Secretary of the Committee) said ‘that ie himself had translated
the Inteniational Covenant on Economic, Social andCultural Bights and the IrrternationaJ.
Covenant on Civil and Political Ri te into Ara io at the req'iest of the ‘ ‘
United Nations and that the transla.tinns had be ub1ie ed by the OEii.ted Natiohe ‘ ‘
Office at Beirut.
- - - -- OEn
. . . —
United Nations Human Rights Committee
19 July 1982
Iran (interpretation from Farsi): (Mr. Xhosroshahi)
Nr. President, distinguished members of the Human Rights
Committee, as the Head of the delegation of the Islamic Republic
of Iran, I thank the Human Rights Committee for the opportunity
given to me to clarify certain questions and explain a few matters
of some importance. I also thank the Committee members who made
kind remarks in their speeches with reference to the Head of this
. delegation.
On the other hand, some of the gentlemen only repeated cer-
tain lies and accusations originating from imperialist quarters
which were afterwards reflected in the Western mass media. In
fact they voiced as a loudspeaker does what the enemies of the in-
dependent and free Islamic Republic of Iran have been saying, and
this is of course greatly regrettable. In view of the fact that
the Human Rights Committee in its eleventh session has decided
upon its own obligations and authority, which is included in its
article 14 O of the Covenant, the delegation of the Islamic Republic
of Iran wishes to register its strong protests for the violation
of the same by some of the. members of the Human Rights Committee
and would like to declare that such a behaviour goes a long way
towards discrediting the Committee in the eyes of our people and
the oppressed nations of the world, and would question its claim
for fairness and impartiality.
Paragraph D of Annex IV says: “OEe Committee confirmed its
aim of engaging in a constructive dialogue with each reporting
State.” But unfortunately statements made by some members,
especially the Human Rights experts from Jordan and Canada, fell
completely outside limitations set for their obligations and the
necessary impartiality and objectivity required for the performance
of their duty. OEe fact that the imperialist press and radio and
television networks have put their facilities at their disposal
confirms our suspicions of such a unison in spreading baseless
accusations against the Islamic Republic of Iran.
We came here out of our genuine respect for human rights. But
the attitudes of some members in statements made by them were so
unfair and illogical that we think it will once again confirm our
people's suspicions of all Western phenomena even if it appears in
the guise of human rights.
We ‘explicitly declared in our five-page report and our 14 5.. .
‘ minute oral statement that our complete and detailed report will
be submitted after our Najlis, the first consultative assembly of
the Islamic Republic of Iran, completes its legal duties. But'
Nessrs. Sadi and Tarnopolsky, ignoring this fact deliberately,
read out their groundless indictments against the Islamic Republic
of Iran. Nr. Sadi, as the first expert to read his statement,
U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE
19 July ... Iran ... Page 2
set the theme and others followed him in throwing all unjusti-
fied and baseless obligations in the book at us. Of course the
only experts who seem to understand our revolutionary situation,
that is, Mr. Anatoly Movchan and Mr. Bernhard G-raefrath, would
have to appear at the end of the show. For us, the statements
read out by most experts reminded us very much of the indictments
read by the Shah's military prosecu tors against Muslim revolution-
aries. It once again reminds us of the time when the Shah's
notorious sister, Ashraf, headed the U.N. Human Rights Commission.
During those long years when a whole nation was suppressed arid op-
pressed by a brutal dictatorship on no occasion did Human Rights
experts venture to cross—examine the Iranian delegation as they
did the true delegation of our revolutionary nation, that keep
their beloved Islamic regime in power through her incredible
sacrifices and at the cost of their precious blood.
Mr. Sadi of; Jordan sees himself as the president of a mili-
tary tr .bunal, whereas if they were to hold an international tri-
bunal, it should try those who massacred some 20,000 Palestinians
during Black September and have so far escaped the hand of jus-
tice. But, of course, the people in the Third World and other
fair—minded people in other countries shall never forget this
human tragedy. :
Mr. President, distinguished members: do you know of any
revolution which, in its most critical initial stages when fighting
against internal and external enemies, has managed to stage a few
national referendums and elections for peop e 5 approval of the
new order, for the election of successive presidents, for election
of representatives to a constituent assembly, for election of
deputies to parliament, to abolish the revolutionary council —
which could linger on for many years, to form governments and
cabinets, to create many peoples' institutions throughout the
country, to declare the third year of its victory as the year of
war by the suggestion of its wise leader, to approve in its parlia-
ment hundreds of legal bills for the improvement of the social, .
political, cultural, economic and judicial life of the people,
to wrestle with back—breaking problems left over from the dark
period of the previous despotic monarchy, to combat internal
organized terrorism, to fight a well—equipped aggression by a
neighbour ruled by blood—thirsty beasts called “Baathists ' — rather
“blood—bathists” — to neutralize many a conspiracy and invasion
instigated by the greatest monster of human history which goes by
the name of “Yankee and at the same time, and while
performing all these Herculean tasks, prepared a detailed report
about the most minute aspects of law and order for the Human Rights
Committee of the United Nations?
U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE
19 July ... Iran ... Page 3
Your attitude towards our people's revolution shall remain in
history as one of the most shameful violations of the true rights
of the people that have purchased freedom,-independence, integrity
and honour for themselves (with) the precious blood of hundreds of
thousands of martyrs. .
. .
While consolidating the foundations of the rule of law in
our country, we presented a short report to the Human Rights Corn—
mittee out of our absolute faith in the rights of humanity, We
could, like some other countries, have postponed this for many
: years to come — postponed the coming to this session — and if we
were convinced that imperialist quarters would take advantage of
our good intentions and would attribute it to international pros—
sure we would have never made a presence at such gatherings and
would continue with our well—founded suspicion of everything the .
West says and does. Our people staged a victorious revolution
through Islamic prInciples and divine guidance, and not through
‘ the provisions of the Human Rights Committee of the United Nations.
If our people trusted such Western creations as the United Nations
or its Human Rights Committee, today the infernal Shah, his mur-
derous generals, and some 14 .5,000 American advisers would still be
ruling Iran. OEat is why Mr. Sadi of Jordan in our eyes looks
like one of the Shah's military prosecutors, in one of his anti—
: Human Rights trials, Of course, we shall not be asking him why
his government could send military forces to aid Iraq in its ag—
gression against Islamic Iran and its young revolution,
Mr. Sadi (Jordan) : .
According to law of procedure, this is not an occasion to go
into political aspects. We spoke about Jordan, about the Pales-
tinians In Jordan — these questions, Mr. Chairman, we have not
raised, and I think, Mr. Chairman, that it is incumbent upon you
to remind the distinguished head of the delegation of Iran to
respond to the questions and not to go into issues not related to
the questions. We have his angry accusations about me as member
of the Shah's military; I can tell him now that I have never been
‘ for the Shah of Iran; I have never supported the Shah of Iran;
I was very happy when the revolution took place. So to make these
accusations at this stage merely because I raised questions which
I wanted him to give us an occasion to respond to; therefore If
he thinks our Commission is wrong this is the occasion for him to
respond'— this is why we askedhim to respond. But to'make ac-
cusations against my person, about my loyalty to the Shah, about
my support to the Shah and about the massacre of Palestinians,
Mr. Chairman, these are all wrong. And I would like to tell him
first and foremost that I have never been a supporter of the Shah
of Iran, the reason I was angry when I heard the reports
about the tortures, about the executions, because I was against
U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE
19 July ... Iran ... Page 1
the same kind of reports which I have heard during the Shah 1 s
regime. So please, Mr. Chairman, it is incumbent on you to re-
mind the distinguished delegation from Iran to limit themselves
to the questions and to reply — and not to make any references
against my person — this is my position — and about issues not
related to the questions we have raised. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chai rman :
OEank you, Mr. Sadi. I very strongly plead to the distinguished
head of the delegation of Iran to avoid personal attacks against
members of this Committee, and to avoid implications from govern-
ments not represented here because here we have people appearing,
members appearing in their personal capacity.
Iran (interpretation from Farsi): (Mr. Khosroshahi)
But we shall not ask him this question because we think that
such questions shall be answered, if God will, on the scenes of
further battlegrounds, but we certainly can ask Mr. Nejib Bouziri
what has his government done to protect the rights of Palestinian
nation and safeguard the independence and integrity of Lebanon;
you are both Muslim and Arab. Why doesn't any of you send any
volunteers to fight the Israeli Nazi occupiers and war criminals?
Arab Tunisian brother dare question us as to what we ha-ye
done for Lebanon and Palestine. If your monstrous Baathists of
Iraq had not pre—occupied us for almost two years, the world would
witness to what extremes we would go to liberate Jerusalem. It
is not without any grounds that the international terrorist that
goes under the name of Menahem Begin is threatening nowadays that
if Iran steps forward they will do this and that. Moreover the
question of our support for Palestinians and the Lebanese must be
put to these people themselves; they are the ones who will supply
you with the proper answer. OEe fact that these heroic people
have been able to withstand the war machinery of the Zionist
enemy could not have come about without preparations, and maybe
revolutionary Iran did have a small share in this, and we are
certain you'll agree that Egypt, Jordan or Tunisia never raised a
finger to help the Palestinians. At any rate, we declare to those
Committee members who voiced our enemies' allegations, and to all
those who are still dreaming of the defeat of the Islamic revolu-
tion in Iran, that our people have decided to remain free, inde-
pendent and Islamic, and not to be fooled by imperialist myths of
human rights, etc. Our people have a half a century of experience.
of domination by Western imperialism and shall not easily give up
U.N. HUMAN BIGHTS COMMITTEE
19 July ... Iran ... Page 5
their newly acquired freedom, independence and Islamic Republic
which was won at the price of some 70,000 martyrs at the very last
stage of their s trugg1e against the dictatorship of the Shah,
If the members of the Human Rights Committee of the United
Nations had after the revolution only once condemned the counter-
revolutionary wave of terrorism in Iran which has claimed the
lives of hundreds of men and women and children, the clergy,
scholars, workers and peasants; if the Human Rights Committee had
only once declared that it was a bad thing that Iraqis was bom-
barding or slaughtering civilians including many Arabs in non-
military zones in Southern and Western parts of Iran, then they
could justify questioning ustoday, as to the exact number of
prisoners or the number of criminals, people butchers, SAVAK
torturers, spies, terrorists, murderers and similar God—forsaken
“corrupt—of—the—earth” we have executed. What on earth gives you
the right to ask us any question? Where were you on that famous
Black Friday — that is, during one single day, when the Shah's
henchmen massacred some 3,000 people in Teheran? What is the record
of the U.N. Human Rights Committee during those black years of the
Shah's rule, when human rights were most shamelessly trampled upon?
And those of you who talk about tolerance and clemency in Islam
would better first take a look at other revolutions — for example,
the figure of 150,000 killed after the French Revolution — and
find out for themselves that if it were not for Islamic clemency
and tolerance how many agents of the former regimes would have
been executed. If our people were of a revenging type, having
offered the revolution some 70,000 martyrs and 100,000 crippled,
they would have run rivers of blood. What was it that prevented
them this? It was only because of Islamic tolerance and mercy,
and because of the general amnesty declared by our beloved and
kind—hearted leader of the Islamic revolution. But we could not
have possibly given SAVAK agents, and top officials, “legion
d'honneur” medals of the former regime. .
Distinguished members of the Committee who happen to be both
legal experts and Islamologists do remember Article 18 of the
Covenant according to which Muslims could manage their affairs in
accordance with Islamic principles, and should agree that this in-
cludes political, economic and social and judicial matters and
relevant laws and regulations. Otherwise it would be ludicrous
to tell the Muslim people of the world “you may do your prayers
according to Islamic tradition, but you're not allowed to practice
Islamic penal or criminal CO 5•f
Mr. President, distinguished members of the Committee: I
declare once again that baseless allegations raised by some of the
gentlemen did not even conform with the criteria set by the Committee
4 “.
U.N. HUflAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE
19 July ... Iran ... Page 6
itself, and therefore are of no value. OEey.were boring repeti-
tions of cliches employed in a vast conspiracy against the Islamic
Republic of Iran throughout the West—dominated world. Otherwise
it would be unbelievingly irratipnal and unfair that certain mern-
bers, who are supposed to be legal experts and are presumably im-
partial, without access to any independent and authoritative re-
ports from Iran, without proper inquiries and without any reliable
documents and evidence at their disposal, should base their judge-
ments or comments and questions merely and purely on adverse
publicity material, information provided by imperialist mass media,
which has all along revealed its animosity and hatred towards the
Islamic Republic of Iran, and pamphlets, booklets and publications
put out by counter—revolutionary.elements such as the families of
Iranian capitalists, embezzlers and thieves, fugitive criminals
and butchers of the former regime, servants and cronies of
capitalist regimes of the Uest and terrorist organizations whose
agents are daily murdering innocent people in Iran. The propagation
and repetition of these malicious lies and groundless accusations
through the Human Rights Committee of the United Nations is one of
the most unethical and immoral means of executing and continuing
the anti—Iran policy of Zionism, imperialism and reactionary Arab
regimes, for discrediting the international appeal of the Iranian
Islamic Revolution.
That accusation that topped the list of most memberst ac—
cusaticns was the ridiculous Saha'i question. It seems that this
matter was the most critical problem that the world community was
facing.
We will therefore try to explain this matter once and for
all, and we hope that our statement in this regard will reach the
eyes and ears of fair—minded people in the world. Baha'is leaders
apparently claim that some sixty to seventy Baha'is have been
executed in Iran, and that the Baha'i population in Iran is
either sixty or seventy thousand.
The very first question that springs to mind is: “t hy out
of some 70,000 people only seventy have been executed?tt and the
question which follows the first is: “Have these seventy people
then been executed because of their Faith or beliefs, or the total
Baha'i population in Iran was only sixty or seventy persons?”
And now tell you gentlemen why some so—called tt3ahatistt have
been executed, and while others are living in Iran like the rest
of the Iranian people. Baha'i leaders claim hypocritically and
shamelessly that they do not interfere in political affairs; but
U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE
19 July ... Iran ... Page 7
during the long black night of Pahiavi regime in Iran they worked
hand—in-hand withZjonjsm and maintained closest organic relation
with the Shah's oppressive and mass—murdering regime. They never
hesitated a moment to help the former Iranian regime in its acts
of suppressjon oppression of freedom, liberty, human rights and
the freedom—loving opponents of the regime. Undeniable, authentic
documents captured by our revolutionary people from SAVAK head—
quarters and centers throughout Iran and official, confidential
and secret papers and documents — hundreds of actual authoritative
evidence point to one direction only: the Baha'i hypocritical,
criminal leaders were the key figures and most important policy—
makers of the God—forsaken regime of the Shah. Known murderers
and traitors such as General the Shah's personal physician;
General Khadenii; the Shah's brother—in—law; General Samii, the
Shah's Minister of 1 rar; Hoveida, the Shah's Premier for thirty
years; mark you — are non—intervention in politics? Mansour
Rouhani, the Shah's Minister of Agriculture for twelve years;
Mrs. Parsa, the Shah t s Minister of Education; Sabeti, the second
high ranking official in SAVAK hierarchy; General Nassiri, Head of
SAVAX — to name but a few — were all key figures in controlling and
maintaining the Shah t s regime. OEis kind of collaboration between
the Baha'i ring—leaders and the Shah's regime — was so close that
according to Document No. 1 in the collection of secret documents —
: these documents will be translated and, together with copies of the
originals, submitted to the Committee — concerning Rouhani's circle
of Baha'i. granted the butcher Shah of Iran the title “the Great
Saviour of Iran”. According to Document No. 9 in this series, the
Baha'j leaders received secret information on the Iranian army,
/- their weapons and trengthwhich were not used, of course, as
religious recitations in Baha'l circles, but were kindly dispatched
to Israel — marked again non—interference in politics?
According to Document No. 11, Baha'j' leaders once sent
120 billion rials to Haifa as a donation to the Zionist army.
That's why the late President Nasser accused them of being Israeli
spies. According to another document, the Zionist government
granted Mr. Hoveida a very large piece of land in occupied Palestine
as a sign of gratitude for his most friendly ... regarding ...
Zionist non—entity, and It is very interesting that SAVAK agents
write in Mr. Hoveida's file: “Beware, he has such a such land in
Israel” etc. And such those Baha'js were either agents of Israel
or accomplices in the killing of people — and Hoveida took part in
the leadership of such — were condemned and executed like many
Muslims, and that have no relation to the aith and beliefs of
the criminals.
Therefore, it is obvious where such' propaganda originates.
To demonstrate more clearly the alliance between the Baha'i and
Israeli we make reference to what a Baha'i leader in America has
U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS COMNITTEE
19 July ... Iran ... Page 8
once said in their official magazine called Akbar Aniin' , issue 10,
page 60i, ‘Our religion should grow in the youngest of the coun-
tries: Israel. We completely depend on this country. In fact,
we shall say that the future of Israel and our future Is inter-
locked together like a chain.tt OEe traitor Baha'is, like traitor
Muslims, were executed in Iran and that nobody in Iran who would
be executed or penalized because of his Faith or religion and to
show the proof in this respect is the lives of tens of thousand
Baha'is who, the !3aha'is claim, who have a good life in Iran.
Well, putting these general issues aside, we reach as to how
to conform the Islamic laws with the solution of any disputes or
bottlenecks that may arise and the views of the Islamic Republic
of Iran in this conjunction. In our reports we (state) that what-
ever the divine rules in which we strongly believe should come into
conflict with human law, we will select and choose the divine laws.
When a nation — as to its Islamic movement — realizes and accepts
the principles of Islam for its existence, they would always follow
as a result the Islamic precepts and Islamic guidance in resolving
all their problems. OEe essence and the basis of the values in
Islamic laws are all derived from God and divine inspiration, and
certainly the criteria for the validity of any law and any other
ideas to us are the proximity and the coordination of them with
the fixed values of God which have been transmitted to earth. How .
ever, since we consider the human traits as coordinated and in
line with the values inspired therefore the possibility of con-
forming the values derived from human civilizations which are de-
rived from human reason and logic, we consider them close to
Islamic values and criteria, especially in view of the canon law
in our Shi'ite theology, has given us this possibility that the
legal necessities for the continuation of our community's life 1
should be considered in relation to the needs of the period and
considered them clear and that the implementation of the divine
rules should be always viewed in conjunction with these laws.
Although the conspiracies after the revolution against Iran did
not give us enough time to develop and set such laws and rules,
nevertheless our efforts are towards the rapid establishment of
three powers —— that is, judicial, executive and legislative —— in
conformity with Islamic laws and this demonstrates our interest to
present a clear picture of our legal revolutionary laws. Certain-
ly after the legislative power of the Islamic Republic of Iran
has been set aside and established, then we could clearly realize
its conformity or lack of conformity or its relative conformity of
each one of those laws and articles with what we have in mind.
Certainly in our detailed report as we understood from the confor-
mity of all such laws with Islamic precepts, and where we make
reference and detail some of these laws in conjuncti ri with our
newly—established rules, we will be very glad to finalize these
RIGHTS COHMITTEE
19 July .., Iran ... Page 9
and present them, Should there be any lack of conformity or inter .-
ference or disputes, we will have no fear in bringing them up and
explaining them here, Not only will we have no fear in this regard
but explicit1y e will try to convince the Humanflights Committee
as to our preference for the Islamic laws. Some of the distjn—
guished members asked us as to whether or not it would be possible
to include and put the human rights laws in the Islamic laws, In
response to that, I should say that if the merge or inclusion of
these laws are to compliment and complete the Islamic laws in such
a way that these two laws be married together, of course the res-
ponse would be a negative one because we consider the Islamic laws
as universal and that the canon law in our theology will take into
consideration the needs of our community in view of the univer-
sality of Islamic law. However, if the merge and such a marriage
would mean an effort toward understanding and exploring the common
aspects of these two laws together, this would be accepted by us
with pleasure and we will follow it up with pleasure.
As to responding to another question raised by one of the dis-
tinguished members here, as to whether or not Islam can govern, I
should say that Is].arn is not summarized only in a set of laws and
regulations, so that would,., the individual to think only about
the moral values. This is strange that some of the distinguished
members of the Committee, where they claim to be Moslem and are
familiar with the Qu'ran, have forgotten that this Holy Book —
from moral teachings to historical analysis, from penal codes to
distribution of wealth and economic possibilities, and a model for
the economic growth of the community, together with the spiritual
development and growth, and in relation also to the criteria for
making use of the nature's gifts, teachings as to the spiritual
and moral values of human beings, also in order to prevent ex-
ploitation of man by man — all of these things have been included
in this Holy Book, They are all covered there, OEis is not only
a slogan; our Islamic Revolution which effectively attained victory
and our resistance' toward conspiracy and also our new legal frame-
work will be in future a good criteria to prove the claim, There-
fore, our response to the question of the possibilities of Islamic
government as a system is strongly a positive one. .
It was asked that: How could non—religious laws be consis-
tent with Islamic laws? In this respect, I must submit to the
distinguished Committee that any non—religious law cannot necessar-
ily be anti—Moslem or anti—Islamic. What is definitely not ac-
ceptable. by us are the laws. which are against Islam. In this
respect at the end I would like to refer to the only logical ques-
tion which was raised here by some of the distinguished members;
and that would be:as to the fact that when we would be able to
offer our final report. I would like to tell them very explicitly
and frankly that the extensive, detailed and complete report of
ours will be presented to the distinguished Committee when the
period of our constituent assembly has approved all the laws and
U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS COMNITTE
19 July ... Iran ... Page 10
communicated to the executive power in the country. And now, I
would like to draw your attention to a small response in regard to
judicial and legal issues, and I would ask my distinguished
colleague to read the report in this regard because I feel tired.
Iran (Interpretation from Farsi): (Mr. Enayat) .
A very summary and brief study of the judicial system of Iran
would help us to recognize as to how individual rights in Iran are
guaranteed. OEe separation of the judicial power in Iran in the
constitution from Article 156 on, has been foreseen and on the
basis of Article 158, the Supreme Judicial Council consists of
five members, two of whom are the State General Attorney and the
Supreme Court Chief Justice. OEe three other members are selected
from among the well—qualified Iranian jurists by Iranian jurists.
Per Article 157 of the Constitution, the Supreme Judicial Council,
which is the highest institution in our judicial system, has the
following functions: establishment of proper organization in the
, Ministry of Justice; preparation of the judicial bills; and third-
ly, employment of religious judges vested in Islamic, theological
and canon law, and their appointment and dismissal and the ...
of the arrangement of all the administrative affairs in accordance
with the procedures governing the employment of the judges.
Presently there are 14 1 provincial and criminal courts in twelve
provinces and that 121 courts of first instance in 52 towns exist.
Also, there are other, independent and local courts in 60 towns
and townships. Right now, there are several systems of legal and
judicial system which exist in Iran and I'll go into detail into
them. .
OEe Special Civil Court: Since a family is considered as a
family unit of an Islamic community, and as rules, laws and
plannings should be made in the direction of promoting family life
on the basis of Islamic laws and morality, and the guarding of its
sacred nature, the Revolutionary Council of the Islamic Republic
of Iran ratified the law in 1979 establishing the Special Civi1-
Court the Revolutionary Court, Prom February 1979 on, an Islamic
Revolutionary Tribunal was formed in the central province, the
capital, to deal with the post—.., or pre—... offences' committed
against the revolution. Per Article 2 of the Revolutionary Tri-
bunal's rules, ratified by the Revolutionary Council in 1979, the
Islamic Revolutionary Courts are competent to deal with the fol—
lowing offences:
1, Murder and massacre.
2. To reinforce the Pahiavi regime and the systematic
military repression of the Iranian people's struggle;
imprisonment and torture of the people per order or
individually according to their own initiatives,
U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE
19 July ... Iran ... Page 11
3. Economic crimes — that is, plunder of the community
treasury or misuse of the State's., wealth for the bene-
fit of the foreigners.
1 . Conspiracy against the Islamic Republic of Iran through
sabotage, terrorism and espionage for foreign powers.,
5. Armed robbery, rape, production and importation of
intoxicating drugs.
Note — all offences other than the foregoing are not within
the jurisdiction of the Islamic Republic and the Islamic revolu-
tionary courts and that they fall within the competence of the jus-
tice or the military courts. Pursuant to Article 1 of the same
ratification a revolutionary court is composed of three principal
and two alternate members. OEe three principal judges are:
(a) a community judge, per recommendation of the Provisionary
Revolutionary and now the Supreme Judicial Council; (b) a judge
: from the Ministry of Justice; Cc) a trusted personality by the
people who is aware of the Islamic revolution and conditions. Per
Article 17, the revolutionary prosecutor per recommendation of the
Revolutionary Council and approved by the Imam. According to
Article 31, the revolutionary guards have no right to arrest any
individual without a written authorization of the revolutionary
prosecutor. Without such an authorization they have no right to
enter anybody's household nor can they seize any p 5 fl s assets.
Any violation in this regard would result in the guard's dismissal
per prosecutor's order. Should this violation be repeated, the
guard would be apprehended by the revolution court. (Note: should
the accused be in the employment o the army or the armed forces,
. d or be the holder of an important political or administrative
7 position, his summonsor arrest is to be carried out with the
prior approval of a committee on behalf of the revolutionary court
‘ and keeping his superior so informed.) Should there be a concern
as to the escape of the accused and that he might be of the type
where no negligence or minimum security treatment should be con-
sidered, such individuals, after having been definitely recognized
as such, may be arrested without the prosecutor's authorization.
However, the matter should immediately be communicated to the pro-
secutor. For the purpose of organizational coordination and
consistency of the implementation of the rules, as well as main-
taining their independence from the State Court, the State organi-
zations, it was necessary that the revolutionary court should be
integrated in the Ministry of Justice, and as such, the laws supple-
menting the Ministry of Justice with the revolutionary court was
approved by the.Isla'niC Parliament in 1981.
Military courts: Under Article 172 of the Constitution — to
investigate the offences relating to special military or security
duties — of the personnel of the armed forces, gendarmerie,
police and. the revolutionary guards corps, military tribunals
shall be held according to the law. As far as ordinary offences
of such personnel where their offences in the capacity of justice
officers are concerned, such offences shall be investigated at
justice court.
i .
U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE
19 July ... Iran ... Page 12
Conditions for the employment of a judge: since most of the
members have this question here I would like to respond to this.
Recently the bill providing the conditions for the employment of
judges has been approved in the Parliament last spring. Pursuant
to this law, a judge is to be just, religious and faithful to the
order of the Islamic Republic. He must be a reputable one and an
authority on the canon law or be appointed by such an authority —
that is, the Supreme Judicial Council. As to the Bar Association,
the continuation of the Bar Association in the old form was no
longer feasible and therefore a new bill was introduced and approved
by the committee for the review of the bills in 1980. OEe commit-
tee is composed of legal experts, provincial judges and Supreme
Court judges assigned by the High Judicial Council. OEus the inde-
pendence of the Bar Association is secured.
As to the Justice Arbitral Tribunal: OEe scope of this tn—
bunal's jurisdiction and competence comparable to the • rench
Conseil d t Etat” is foreseen in Article 173 of the Constitution.
According to Article 11 approved by the Parliament and the Council
of the Custodians, this deals with the complaints and protests
against the actions of the government units — be it ministries,
government entities, instrumentalities or agencies, and the revolu-
tionary units, or rules and procedures related to them, as well
as unconstitutionality orrnisus.e .. .and violation of such; also pro-
cessing complaints and protests as to the courts' awards and
rulings are among such functions. Ministries, governmental
entities, agencies and instrumentalities as well as their af-
filiates and revolutionary units are obliged to carry out the
Tribunal's rulings where they relate to them. In the event of
failure or non—adherence to the foregoing, such an authority shall
be removed from office and will be subject to legal prosecution.
Per Article 22: Disputes as to the jurisdiction of the ad-
ministrative justice and the ministries of courts, it shall be re-
solved by the Supreme Court. Article 25 stipulates that in the
carrying out Article 170 of the Constitution the administrative
tribunal shall refer to the Council of Custodians any complaints
as to the governmental rules and regulations. Should the Council
render its award as to the non—legitimacy of any rule or regula-
tion, the administrative justice will issue a nullification ruling
to such an effect. OEe state inspectorate organization, on the
basis of Article l71 of the Constitution, on the strength of the
right of judicial power, to control over the satisfactory cir—
>. culation of affairs and a sound administration of laws in the
government units, and an organization named “State Inspectorate”
shall be formed under the control of the Supreme Judicial Council.
The Inspectorate has 27 administrative personnel, 32 judicial
personnel and aides. OEeir activities fall into three areas. I
don't go into detail in this respect, and I'll explain the mechanism
as to guaranteeing the individual rights, and I will explain the
Committee on Article 90 in the Constitution.
.
U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE
19 July ...Iran ... Page 13
Pursuant to Article 90, any person having a complaint as to
the run of affairs and the Majlis — the Parliament - or by the
executive or judicial powers, he can lodge his complaint in
writing with the Majlis. OEe Majlis shall consider the complaint
and give adequate reply thereto. If, however, such complaints
relate to the executive or judicial power, the Majlis shall con-
sider the case and call upon the executive or judicial power to
adequately clarify'that. ... OEe Committee on Article 90, which is
composed of a few members of Parliament and some legal experts,
in accordance with the law authorizing the direct communication
of the Najlis with the outsideworld and the direct investigation
of Majlis approved in 1980; as to the three powers in Islamic
Republic of Iran and all thebureaus and ministries as well as
foundations and the revolutionary units, they have the right to
enter into direct communication with these and demand explana-
tions in this respect.
There was another question as to the judicial policy — and
the mechanisms as well as their terms of reference, OEe necessity
for establishment of the judicial police and their separation from
> ‘ the military policp, and training the special cadres” for this
respect, was felt from the beginning of the revolution. OEe bill
for establishing judicial police was approved by the Parliament in
1980, and its amendment in five articles was approved last year;
and their duties are as follows: communication of the legal and
judicial documents; implementation of the penal and civil rulings;
judgements; pursuit of the accused; forming and establishing the
introductory files for them; safeguarding their archives; and
affairs related to the coroners office — their identity and also.
>. investigation. OEe organization for judicial police is a part of
the judicial power and is independent from executive power. The
chief of the judicial police is the deputy to the state prosecutor
and they have their own special uniforms, and they have their own
rankings. In the selection, training and their award we pay atten-
tion to two important elements of faith and moral cleanliness, as
well as order and discipline in their work. It may be very tiring
if I go into detail inexplaining the judicial police organization
any further.
I would like a small explanation as to the Iranian prisons and
the recent changes that have been effected in regard to the laws .
and implementation of those lawsvis avis the prisons. In ac-
cordance with the law giving the affairs of the prisons to the
Minister of Justice, approved in 1979 by the Council of Revolution,
the organization of all the state prisons and the industrial units
as well as agricultural ones related to these prisons are all given
to the Minister of Justice. In its supplementary bill to this law
approved in 1980, it was ordained that the Minister of Justice in
forming a Council composed of one judge, a police officer and one
political prisoner belonging to the old regime; and the members of
this council are elected by the Supreme Judicial Council and they
. •—
U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE
19 July ... Iran ... Page l 1 J
function under the supervision of the state prosecutor. What
they have achieved so far are the following: preparation of laws;
preparation of procedures and operating manuals for the prisons,
as well as other institutions related to the prisons; and training;
preparation of the statutes for the Associations for the Protection
of the Prisoners which was approved last year (four months ago
actually). It was approved by the Supreme Judicial Council, which,
according to Article 1 of that Association, such an association is
composed of a certain jurist and other members of the prison in
relation to each prison. According to Article 3, this association
is supposed to help the families of the prisoners, re—institution
of their personality and integrity, their reformation and their
guidance, aiding them in learning a craft, aiding them in finding
a job after release from the prison by giving them either financial
aid or providing them with a new opportunity, in aiding them in
improving their health and other aspects, encouragement of artistic
and cultural activities, sports, crafts and educational activities,
creating units for self—aid, a reformation centre for the children —
juveniles, centres for the supervision of the juveniles after re-
lease as well as other schools to train such juveniles. These pro-
cedures were approved four months ago. OEe procedures for the pro-
tection of the prisoners which was approved in 1981, approved by
the Supreme Judicial Council and in its Article 12 they ordained
that the social workers are obliged to provide for the families
>. of the prisoners which are under the protection cover of this :;,.
Association; that the Association should provide separate files;
and these social workers' files should include the specifications
and all the aspects of the family life of the prisoner, number of
his family household, report as to the regular visits of the house-
hold of the prisoners and the actions taken toward improving their
lot and guidance of the prisoner. OEese all must be prepared and
submitted. In the budget law dated 1981 adequate budget, in ac-
cordance with Article 35, was set aside and put at the disposition
of the Supreme Judicial Council in order to implement all these
projects. Other activities which have been effected in this regard
include a procedure as to the violations of the prisoner guards,
‘ preparation of a statute related to the cooperative of the priso-ners
in the capital and the industries related to them, a procedure for
taking care of their families, health insurance of the prisoners,
as well as implementation of religious ceremonies should it be
requested by the prisoners. OEe occupation of the prisoners as
well as the open prisons — we have two examples in this regard:
one is the prison called “Qawzahesar” where some of the prisoners
ar.e constantly working on agricultural projects and farming, and
the other group would be occupied in learning industrial activities,
both of which are being conducted in a free atmosphere; moreover,
many of the industrial units where the prisoners are working there
voluntarily and where they receive their salaries. One of these
institutions is occupied with the training and educating the
children of the prisoners which according to a law passed last year
all aspects foreseen in order to prevent that such offences be
repeated; and that in the Islamic penal code — this story has been
reported from the Prophet — that the penal responsibility has been
removed from three groups: the youngster until the age of maturity —
.
..
U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE
19 July .. Iran ... Page 15
that's the first group; and those who don't have mental capacity —
the mad ones, the crazy ones; and the one who is sick, The fore-
going was in response to questions as to whether or not children
and juveniles w u1d be prosecuted. . .
As to the clemency for the prisoners: a procedure has been
prepared in this regard by, the Parliament the last of which was
ratified in 1981 and that a committee has been formed composed of
the president of this Association for the Protection of Prisoners,
the chief legal officer of the Ministry of Justice, the Teheran
prosecutors, Identity Bureau's chief, and also a judge selected
by the Supreme Court of Iran,- This committee reviews the recom-
mendation for clemency and, according to Paragraph 1 of Article 3,
the implementation of an execution, should there be a request for
clemency by the accused, the acceptance of such arequest or re-
jection of it would be communicated to the prisoner within 15 days,
and until the response from this Commission, the execution will
be delayed.
OEe collection of the penal codes, to which many of the dis-
tinguished members have made queries here: I must inform you that
during the past two months ‘several important bills have been passed
by the Supreme Judicial Council, including more than 2,800 articles,
and they have been given to the Parliament so that it would be
reviewed, studied and approved. And they would be divided into
six parts: one is the legal affairs, the civil law procedures,
the penal law procedures, and the general punishment laws, the
improvement of some of the commercial codes, and the registration
: laws, The details of all these articles may become very tiring,
especially when the translation is being made. I really deleted
a great deal because they could' not be easily translated here.
Mr. Chairman, distinguished members of the Committee: the
fact that you listened to us with patience — I would like to thank
you very sincerely, and we hope that in the first opportunity that
we may have to prepare the complete report for this Committee and
present it here. And we hope that the distinguished members of the
: Human Rights Committee in their judgement and arbitrations and
even in quoting would rely on the documents and proofs. Otherwise
the repetition and quoting of rumours and accusations not only
will not solve any problems, but our Muslim people and other Muslim
people of the world would become pessimistic towards certain -
phr'nornena.. e do hope that in future, which will be the recon—
structirig part of our country, we hope that during this period we
will' attain a more complete objective and that the problems be
removed and solved and that there will be no place for allegations
and rumours which are foundless and which may be derived from our
enemies. Once again, I would sincerely appreciate your presence
here and I thank you. . .
S ‘
U • N. HUMAN RIGHTS COMNITTEE
19 July ... Iran ... Page 16
Iran (Interpretation from Farsi): (Mr. Khosroshahi)
In the Name of God.
Our Tunisian friend remarked as to what kind of aid Iran
has given to Lebanon and Palestine. I don't know whether this
was among the duties of this Committee to be brought up — the
gentlemen here must be better aware of this. It is natural that
when such an issue is brought up I am forced to bring up such a
question and pose it at him. Therefore, it was first brought up
to the gentleman and it was from you this came. He said as to
why instead of fighting another Islamic government, why don't you
instead go and help Palestihe? Well, it's very interesting. Why
did you not pose this question during the past 22 months when
our country was invaded by the Baathists? Why, after ten cities
of ours were completely destroyed and ruined, and that 300 villages
in ICurdistan were completely razed, where in all these villages
the population consisted of Arab populations — why did you not
pose this questio i then? Now, that we are after our own rights,
you think of Muslims and the Muslim brotherhood? If the Tunisian
government has taken a step in this direction and we are not aware
of (it) — we are very grateful and this is their Islamic duty to
extend such an aid, and that they could not expect anybody to be
indebted to them. In.:.fact and in action we observe that Baghdad
and the Shah united together in Algiers. They signed a treaty;
but, after the Iranian victory of the revolution, when Shah and
America left Iran, then Iraq nullified and abrogated one-sidedly,
unilaterally such a treaty, and then attacked us by ground, air
and sea. It is our Islamic duty to defend our own country; there-
fore, it is surprising that he asks — after 22 months he asks —
why two Islamic countries are fighting each other. It would have
been better if he would have posed this question to Baghdad. The
distinguished delegate from Canada stated that we have attacked
some of the members here. Our intention was attacking nobody;
but, the point is that the discussion and what is wrote up here
is different from introducing an indictment. I sit, for instance,
for two hours with Imam Khomeini to discuss a theological point,
and nobody is hurt, because this is the specification of us —
we students of theology — to discuss, to talk. However, our
problem here is that we have been invited here for talks, but
instead of talking all the rumours and the lies belonging to our
enemies are brought up here. OEat BBC, Guardian and other
imperialistic sources quote the gentlemen from Jordan, and they
attack us and they say that the Iranians are being tried. So if
the tone of the questions from the gentlemen from Canada and
Jordan had assumed the character of a discussion it would not have
been logical that the imperialistic sources would take advantage
of this. We notice here that the question as to the Baha'is are
raised here by five different people. Why are you wasting our
L
U, N. HUMAN RIGHTS COMI'1 j'
19 July ... Iran .., Page 17
time and their own time? One question is raised by one person,
Is this committee not a one committee, not a United One? The
repetition of such questions would give us such a suspicion that
there might be a conspiracy,
Moreover, we observed that at night the EEC on the following
: morning, the Guardian and the French papers and the American papers
are reporting that tian is under the international pressure and as a
result of such pressure has come to this Committee. We go to
nowhere under any international pressure. We felt that out of re-
spect for the human rights to present our, short report, but unfor-
tunately we did not understand that the meeting was not for a
talk, for a dia1o e, Some friends said that they have fought
against the regime of the Shah; well, this was their duty as a
human being and nobody should be indebted to them, Of course, we
are very grateful to them,
We hope that in our massive report the important legal
issues which have been referred to by the Canadian and the Jor-
danian members will be responded to. However, it is interesting
that the gentleman from Canada says that “we obtain the informa-
tion from any source Apparently this from the Com-
mittee's point of view may not be correct that the gentlemen who
are jurists, who are legal :experts, who are independent and impar-
tial should . obtain the information fro.m Iran and from bona fide
sources, Now, that you think the second part of our reportwas
interesting to you, well, we're very glad; but certainly the first
part of my submission will be much more interesting for my own
nation, .
Our.Iraqi friend to which I purposely did not respond to his
question so that it would not be interpreted as anything spicial
or particular — he says that he is not representing his govern-
ment — and everybody would claim such. And we hope that this
is a fact, The gentleman states that...Iraq had announced a ease-
fire - a.fe.w times they have donethat —and that Iran did not
accept this. Well, this is a very interesting human rightshero,
Iraq has attacked us; had sent hundred thousand soldiers into
Iran, 5,OOO of which are prisoners of war here in Iran, Tens of
thousands have been massacred, mostly are among Arabs, Arab popula-
tion. Two million people have been displaced, homeless; they have
destroyed their cities, their towns andthen from the position of
power they want us to cease fire, Hitler had the same hopes and
aspirations. We just defended our own rights. We threw out the
enemy. And not at all glad that even one Iraqi soldier should
have died because they are human beings and they; .were Muslims,
However, from Qur'an's point of view and perspective, whoever
attacks us we respond, and we defend. ordains us and tells
us that if someone attacks you we should counter—attack him, We
are not such that if we are slapped on the right part of our face
;
. A. RIGH COM EE :
19 July ... Iran ... Page 18
to turn our face toward the left so that another slap is- done to
us and this is the teaching of Qur'an. The gentleman states that
Iran is in Iraq right now. Yes, this is the fact and this must be
so, If we give a medal of honour to the aggressor then tomorrow
he'll repeat his aggression again. The leaders of the Iraqi
regime must in an international court of justice respond to this ‘
aggression and to this massacre. OEey must..pay the 150 billion
dollars price of reparation. This is not logical that an enemy
attacks us, inflicts damages on us, undefended cities be bombarded,
kill five hundred people and that we should remain silent. Our
cities like Khoramshahr, Hamadan, ... , have been all bombarded by
far away cannons and then you'll expect us to just look because
they have announced cease—fire.
As to the fact that the way to the liberation of Jerusalem
is through Baghdad: there is no doubt. During the past 15 years
could Iraq tell us: what bullet have they fired against Israel?
However the li—meters rockets have been fired against us and the
ruins are there and the gentleman can come and observe for himself
the results in Iran, ,
Iraq had accepted Abunezar who was condemned to death — the
Abunezar Palestinians, OEe help they have offered to the Pales—
t&nian Liberation Organization probably are of this kind, It was
stated that the Iraqi government has documents proving that Israe1' '
has extended assistance to Iran, Why don't they publish it then? ‘‘
However, when the atomic centre of Baghdad — the nuclear centre of
Baghdad — was bombarded and was destroyed, why nobody was informed?
Where were the Iraqi planes? T as it not a calculated Conspiracy
already approved between the Iraqis and the Israelis? Were the
: Iraqi radars s1eeping I don't think that this is a political
meeting here, and I'm very sorry that such questions have been
brought up by my friends here to which I have to respond. However,
if the meeting were political and that I had brought the necessary
documents and proofs from Iran, then the traitors to the Arabs
would have been known here,
Anyway, the fact that the gentlemen have listened to me again,
I do thank them sincerely and I hope as they have stated to remain
impartial and independent and that not to assume a position in this
Committee which would demonstrate IIat they are the representatives
of their governments, Such confrontation would result in the fact
that the trusts of the nations would be destroyed about this Corn—-
mittee, The gentlemen are much better aware than myself as to the
articles related to this Committee and I hope that they will be
faithful to all those articles and procedures so that, in a free
climate, we could sit and have our dialogue. If the duty of this
Committee would be related to bringing up political questions and
disputes between countries here, in that case however we are quite
prepared; however, we would ask you sincerely to let u know before-
hand so that we would be so prepared, Thank you very much, sir.
c ' S Z2 ‘-) Q1
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