This practice is clearly against Article 7 of the International Covenant on civil and political rights (ICCPR), which explicitly forbids “torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatments”. Moreover, the Iranian authority applies the practice of gozinesh against the Kurdish population. This practice is used to marginalize the Kurds by clearly refusing them access to work in the public sector, as well as in some parts of the private sector. Such a process infringes upon the principle of equal chances and treatment for Kurdish women who try to find work in these sectors. It must also be underlined that the State is by far the main employer in Iran. To conclude, the discrimination Kurdish women face in Iran require urgent measures, such as the efficient use of the Kurdish language in public life and the modification of laws restricting the participation of women belonging to minorities and in general of minorities in the economic and political life. The Association for Human Rights in Iranian Kurdistan – Geneva believes that discriminations against women and minorities in Iran will not diminished without an intervention of the international community. Thus we urge the United Nations, the international community and this Forum to act together and put pressure on the Islamic Republic of Iran to ratify the Convention on the elimination of discrimination of women and to take effective measures to protect the human rights of the Kurdish people and of all minorities in Iran. Geneva, 29-30th of November 2011