South Azerbaijanis were deprived from basic Human Rights by Persian chauvinist regime a report from United Nation  

  	  	 CERD/C/IRN/CO/18-19 
  	  
 ADVANCE UNEDITED VERSION 	 Distr.: General 
 27 August 2010 

 Original: English 
 Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination  
 Seventy-seventh session  
 2 –27 August 2010  
  	  	 Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under article 9 of the convention  
  	  	 Concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination  
  	  	 Islamic Republic of Iran 
 1. 	 The Committee considered the 18th and 19th periodic reports of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which were due on 2006 respectively, submitted in one document (CERD/C/IRN/18-19), at its 2014th and 2015th meetings (CERD/C/SR.2014 and 2015), held on 4 and 5 August 2010. At its 2042nd meeting (CERD/C/SR.2042), held on 23 August 2010, it adopted the following concluding observations. 
  	 A. 	 Introduction 
 2. 	 The Committee welcomes the detailed report submitted by the State party, in spite of its delay. The Committee is encouraged by the attendance of a high-ranking, diverse delegation, representing several institutions of the State party and expresses its appreciation for the opportunity to continue its dialogue with the State party. 
 3. 	 While the Committee notes with satisfaction that the State party’s report generally conforms to the reporting guidelines of the Committee, it regrets that the report contains insufficient information on the practical implementation of the Convention, particularly on economic and social indicators of the State Party’s population disaggregated by ethnicity. 
  	 B. 	 Positive aspects 
 4. 	 The Committee welcomes the various developments which have taken place in the State party, including:  
  	 (a) 	 The approval of the Law on Citizenry Rights in 2005; 
  	 (b) 	 The ratification of amendment to article 8 of the Convention by the State party on 7 November 2005, adopted on 15 January 1992 at the fourteenth meeting of States parties to the Convention and endorsed by the General Assembly in its resolution 47/111 of 16 December 1992, concerning the financing of the Committee; 
  	 (c) 	 The update on the progress being made by the State party in the establishment of a National Human Rights Institution in accordance with the Paris Principles; 
  	 (d) 	 The amendment of the 4th Development Plan which allows budget allocations and a percentage of oil and gas revenues for the development of less developed provinces, particularly inhabited by disadvantaged ethnic groups; and 
  	 (e) 	 Iran’s active engagement with the international community on human rights issues, such as its initiative on promoting a dialogue among civilizations. 
 5. 	 The Committee commends the State Party’s continued hosting of a large population of refugees from neighboring countries such as Afghanistan and Iraq. 
  	 C. 	 Concerns and recommendations 
 6.  	 The Committee takes note of the State party’s views on the difficulties involved in determining the ethnic composition of the population beyond indicating the concentration of ethnic groups in different provinces of Iran, but also felt that the difficulties of Iran on this matter were not sui generis. While taking note of the recent population census in 2007, the Committee regrets that this opportunity was apparently not taken advantage of to acquire detailed information on the ethnic composition of the population by means of a self-identification question on ethnicity. 
  	 The Committee recommends that the State party make renewed efforts to update the information on its ethnic composition, relying on the principle of self-identification. It recommends that such a self-identification question be included in the next census carried out by the State party and requests that the results of the census be made public and this information be provided in the next State party report. 
 7. 	 While noting the clarifications made by the State party on the incorporation of the Convention into domestic legislation, the Committee reiterates that the status of the Convention, when juxtaposed with certain divergent provisions of the Constitution and of domestic legislation, still remains unclear. It further notes that the Convention has never been invoked by domestic courts. 
  	 The Committee recommends that the State party undertake the necessary measures to harmonize its domestic legislation with the Convention. It also recommends that the State party take further steps for public dissemination of the provisions of the Convention and the possibilities for its invocation to combat racial discrimination, including in minority languages and that it provide its Government officials with education and training in this area. 
 8. 	 The Committee notes the information furnished by th