GENEVA (23 August 2024) – The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination(CERD) today issued its findings on Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela after reviewing the seven States parties in its latest session.
 
The findings contain the Committee’s main concerns and recommendations on the implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, as well as positive aspects. Key highlights include:
Iran
The Committee voiced serious concerns over reports of grave human rights violations and abuses committed by law enforcement officers against protestors belonging to ethnic and ethno-religious minority groups during the November 2019, July 2021 and September 2022 protests, particularly in the provinces predominately inhabited by these minority groups. It urged Iran to immediately conduct impartial investigations into allegations of violations and abuses of human rights committed by State actors during these protests and to provide reparation for the victims. 
The Committee expressed concern over reports that ethnic and ethno-religious minorities are overrepresented in the criminal justice system and are disproportionately subjected to arbitrary detention and death sentences for broadly defined offences under the Islamic Criminal Code, as well as for drug-related offences. It called on Iran to review its legal framework, repeal vaguely worded criminal offences punishable by death, ensure fair and due process for minority groups, and establish a moratorium on the death penalty with the goal of abolishing it.