A/RES/56/171 (f) At the use of torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment, in particular the practice of amputation and the growing number of cases of public flogging; (g) At the systemic discrimination against women and girls in law and in practice, and at the recent rejection of legislation to raise the age of marriage for women; (h) At the continuing discrimination against persons belonging to minorities, in particular against Baha’is, Christians, Jews and Sunnis; (i) At the ongoing lack of clarity concerning all the circumstances surrounding the suspicious deaths and killings of intellectuals and political activists in late 1998 and early 1999; 4. Calls upon the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran: (a) To abide by its obligations freely undertaken under the International Covenants on Human Rights2 and other international instruments on human rights and to continue its efforts to consolidate respect for human rights and the rule of law; (b) To take further measures to promote full and equal enjoyment by women and girls of their human rights and to undertake major educational programmes to promote women’s rights; (c) To implement the recommendations Rights of the Child 8 as a matter of priority, as International Labour Organization Convention Immediate Action for the Elimination of the (Convention No. 182); made by the Committee on the well as to consider ratifying the concerning the Prohibition and Worst Forms of Child Labour (d) To eliminate all forms of discrimination based on religious grounds or against persons belonging to minorities and to address this matter in an open manner, with the full participation of the minorities themselves, as well as to implement fully the conclusions and recommendations of the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on the question of religious intolerance relating to the Baha’is and other minority groups 9 until they are completely emancipated; (e) To ensure full respect for freedom of expression; (f) To end the imposition of the death penalty for crimes committed by persons under the age of eighteen, and to ensure that capital punishment will not be imposed for crimes other than the most serious and will not be pronounced in disregard of the obligations it has assumed under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 3 and the provisions of United Nations safeguards, and to provide the Special Representative with relevant statistics on this matter; (g) To take all necessary measures to end the use of torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment, in particular the practices of amputation and public flogging, and to pursue vigorously penitentiary reform; _______________ 8 9 See CRC/C/15/Add.123 See E/CN.4/1996/95/Add.2. 3