Situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran A/RES/73/181 degrading treatment or punishment and consideration of bail and other reasona ble terms for release from custody pending trial; 13. Calls upon the Islamic Republic of Iran to release persons detained for the exercise of their human rights and fundamental freedoms, including those who have been detained solely for taking part in peaceful protests, to consider rescinding unduly harsh sentences, including those involving the death penalty and long -term internal exile, and to end reprisals against individuals, including for cooperating or attempting to cooperate with the United Nations human rights mechanisms; 14. Also calls upon the Islamic Republic of Iran to address the poor conditions of prisons, to end the practice of deliberately denying prisoners access to adequate medical treatment, which creates a consequent risk of death, an d to put an end to the continued and sustained house arrest of leading opposition figures from the 2009 presidential elections despite serious concerns about their health, as well as the pressure exerted upon their relatives and dependants, including throu gh arrest, and calls upon the Islamic Republic of Iran to establish credible and independent prison oversight authorities to investigate complaints of abuse; 15. Further calls upon the Islamic Republic of Iran, including the judicial and security branches, to create and maintain, in law and in practice, a safe and enabling environment in which an independent, diverse and pluralistic civil society can operate free from hindrance and insecurity, and urges the Islamic Republic of Iran to end widespread and serious restrictions, in law and in practice, on the right to freedom of expression and opinion, including in digital contexts, and the right to freedom of association and peaceful assembly, and to end its harassment, intimidation and persecution of political opponents, human rights defenders, women ’s and minority rights defenders, labour leaders, students’ rights defenders, environmentalists, academics, film-makers, journalists, bloggers, social media users and social media page administrators, media workers, religious leaders, artists, lawyers and their families and persons belonging to recognized and unrecognized religious minorities and their families, wherever it may occur; 16. Strongly urges the Islamic Republic of Iran to eliminate, in law and in practice, all forms of discrimination and other human rights violations against women and girls, including with respect to the right to freedom of movement, the right to enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, the right to freedom of religion or belief and the right to work, to take measures to ensure protection for women and girls against violence and their equal protection and access to justice, to address the concerning incidence of child, early and forced marriage, as recommended by the Committee on the Rights of the Child, to promote, support and enable women’s participation in political and other decision-making processes, and, while recognizing the high enrolment of women in all levels of education in the Islamic Republic of Iran, to lift restrictions on women’s equal access to all aspects of education and women’s equal participation in the labour market and in all aspects of economic, cultural, social and political life; 17. Calls upon the Islamic Republic of Iran to eliminate, in law and in practice, all forms of discrimination and other human rights violations against persons belonging to ethnic, linguistic, recognized or unrecognized religiou s minorities or other minorities, including but not limited to Arabs, including Ahwazi Arabs, Azeris, Balochis, Kurds and Turkmen, and their defenders; 18. Expresses serious concern about ongoing severe limitations and restrictions on the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief, restrictions on the establishment of places of worship, attacks against places of worship and burial and other human rights violations, including but not limited to harassment, intimidation, persecution, arbitrary arrests and detention, denial of access 18-22277 3/5