Country of origin information report Iran January 2010

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Children
Overview
24.01 The Library of Congress website, updated on 2 May 2009 though information prepared in August 2007, noted:
“The Islamic Republic of Iran (Iran) is a party to Convention on the Rights of the Child.  Iran adhered to the Convention in September 1991, and ratified it on July 13, 1994. Iran, however, has made the following reservation ‘If the text of the Convention is or becomes incompatible with the domestic laws and Islamic standards at any time or in any case, the Government of the Islamic Republic shall not abide by it.’ Iran has so far (according to the available sources in the Law Library of Congress) not passed legislation calling for the implementation of the Convention.” [7b]
24.02 Iran has also ratified “… the ILO Convention concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour (Convention No. 182) (ratified on 8 May 2002).” (UN Secretary-General’s Report, 23 September 2009) [10g] (p16) When Iran’s 2nd Periodic Report was considered by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) on 20 January 2005, the ratification of the ILO Convention was welcomed but:
“… the Committee remains concerned at the large number of children below the age of 15, particularly in rural areas, who are involved in child labour, especially in the informal sector, including carpet weaving and other traditional family businesses. The Committee also notes that although article 79 of the Labour Code sets the minimum age of access to employment at 15, other legislation, including the Agricultural Code, sets that age at 12.” [10ag] (Para 68)
24.03 Iran has ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography on 26 September 2007 but it has not signed the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict. (United Nations Treaty Collection, accessed 2 December 2009) [10ah]
The UNICEF website includes general information on the situation of children in Iran.
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Basic legal information
24.04 The UN Secretary-General’s report dated 1 October 2008 observed that:
“The age for criminal responsibility under Iranian law is set at 14 years and 7 months for boys and 8 years and 9 months for girls, which is not only discriminatory but also low by international standards. Accordingly, children who commit serious crimes can be processed as adults under the Penal Code …Furthermore, there is a possibility of death sentence under qisas (retribution in kind) for juvenile offenders, unless diyah is agreed or the offender is forgiven by the victim’s family. The sharia jurisprudence considers qisas a private right of the family of the victim that cannot be overruled by the decision of a judge or any other authority. In this connection, Iranian officials exclude the State’s responsibility for qisas cases.” [10a] (p11)
24.05 The UN Report, ‘Situation of Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran’, E/CN.4/2002/42, dated 16 January 2002, stated:
“The Special Representative would note that there reportedly remain on the books two invidious provisions concerning children and the criminal law. One sets the age of penal responsibility at the age of puberty, 9 [lunar] years for girls and 15 [lunar] years for boys, which means that young people can face adult punishments. The second is that an adult who kills a minor is subject to the death penalty unless the accused is the father or grandfather of the victim, in which case the accused is subject only to the payment of diyah. The Special Representative trusts that the promised new Juvenile Justice Act will amend both of these provisions. [Solar years are longer than lunar years by 11 days so the UK equivalent of these ages would be less than the Iranian ages of criminal responsibility [132]]” [10p] (p21)
24.06 The UN 38th session CRC report of March 2005 stated that:
“The Committee reiterates its deep concern that the age of majority is set at pre-defined ages of puberty for boys at 15 and for girls at 9, because it implies that boys from 15 to 18 years and girls from 9 to 18 years are not covered by the provisions and principles of the Convention. The Committee notes the increase in the age of marriage for girls from 9 to 13 years (while that of boys remains at 15) and is seriously concerned at the very low minimum ages and the related practice of forced, early and temporary marriages.” [10ag] (para 22)
24.07 The USSD 2008 stated that: “The law requires court approval for the marriage of girls younger than 13 and boys younger than 15; however, it was reportedly not unusual in rural areas for parents to have their children marry before they become teenagers, often for economic reasons.” [4a] (Section 5)
24.08 Freedom House’s report, Countries at the Crossroads 2007, Iran, stated that “Suffrage is universal in Iran, unlimited by gender or ethnicity. The minimum voting age rose to 18 in January 2007 after remaining at only 15 for many years”. [112a]
24.09 The CIA World Factbook, updated on 11 November 2009, states that military service age and obligation is 19 years of age for compulsory military service; 16 years of age for volunteers; 17 years of age for Law Enforcement Forces; 15 years of age for Basij Forces (Popular Mobilization Army). Conscript military service obligation is 18 months and women are exempt from military service. [111]
See also Military service.
Legal rights
24.10 The US Library of Congress website, updated on 2 May 2009 stated “The Law Aggravating Punishment for Employing Children under 12 Years of Age in the Carpet Industry of February, 1969 provides for a jail term of six months to one year and a fine of five thousand to fifty thousand rials for violators.  Other than the carpet industry, the Labor Law sets age fifteen as the minimum age for employment.” [7b]
24.11 The USSD Report 2008 further stated:
“The labor code prohibits all forms of forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, there were reports that such practices occurred. … The law prohibits employment of minors younger than 15 years and places restrictions on the employment of minors younger than 18; however, the government did not adequately enforce laws pertaining to child labor, and child labor was a serious problem. The law permits children to work in agriculture, domestic service, and some small businesses, but prohibits employment of minors in hard labor or night work. There was no information regarding enforcement of these regulations.
“According to government sources, 3 million children were prevented from obtaining education because their families forced them to work. Unofficial sources claimed the figure was closer to 5 million. In 2007 Tehran reportedly opened several shelters for street children. There were reportedly significant numbers of children--particularly Afghan but also Iranian--working as street vendors in major urban areas. Many Afghan children were unable to attend school because they lacked birth certificates or identification cards, which the government reportedly refused to issue in an effort to curb illegal immigration.” [4a] (Section 6)
24.12 The Women’s News Network on 23 September 2008 noted that:
“According to existing family law, citizenship cannot be passed to children from their mothers. Many Iranian women who have married Afghan and Iraqi men cannot get birth certificates for their children; hence these children cannot go to school. It is estimated that there are 100,000 children today in Iran without birth certificates who are denied their basic human right to education.” [136a]
Judicial and penal rights
24.13 The UN Report, ‘Situation of Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran’, E/CN.4/2002/42, dated 16 January 2002, observed:
“There continue to be positive developments in the area of juvenile justice. The Special Representative is informed that a committee was established in February 2001 to draft a new juvenile justice legislation. Over the past two years, all juvenile judges have been given training on the Convention on the Rights of the Child and on the relevant international instruments on juvenile justice. Social workers from the National Prisons Organization have participated in such courses. There are now examples of alternative sentences being issued by juvenile judges in some provinces.” [10p]
24.14 However the UN 38th session CRC report of March 2005 stated that: “The Committee reiterates its serious concern at article 220 of the Penal Code, which provides that fathers who kill their child, or their son’s child, are only required to pay one third of the blood money to the mother, and are subjected to a discretionary punishment, in the event that the mother makes a formal complaint.” [10ag] (Para 31)
24.15 The UN 38th session CRC report of March 2005 noted that:
“The Committee notes the various legislative measures undertaken by the State party and referred to in its response to the list of issues (CRC/C/RESP/71) and welcomes in particular the information provided by the delegation that the Bill on the Establishment of Juvenile Courts has been approved by the Council of Ministers and has been submitted to the Majlis, a bill which, inter alia, abolishes the death penalty for crimes committed by persons under 18. The Committee also notes that this Bill has yet to be approved by the Council of Guardians before it becomes law.” [10ag] (Para 8)
24.16 The same report went on to say:
“The Committee deeply regrets that, under existing laws, persons below the age of 18 who have committed a crime can be subjected to corporal punishment and sentenced to various types of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, such as amputation, flogging or stoning, which are systematically imposed by judicial authorities and which the Committee considers to be totally incompatible with article 37(a) and other provisions of the Convention… (Para 45) The Committee continues to be concerned about legislation that provides for corporal punishment within the family. While welcoming the new Law on the Protection of Children and Adolescents (2003), which includes the prohibition of all forms of molestation and abuse of children and the obligation to report cases of child abuse, the exceptions stated therein continue to legally allow various forms of violence against children. More particularly, several articles of the Civil and Penal Code have been excluded, including article 1179 of the Civil Law and article 59 of the Penal Code, which gives parents the right to physically discipline their children within non-defined ‘normal limits’. In the Committee’s view, such exceptions contribute to the abuse of children inside and outside the family and contravene the principles and provisions of the Convention, in particular article 19. The Committee also notes with concern, that certain forms of sexual abuse of children or grandchildren are not explicitly prohibited.” [10ag] (Para 47)
24.17 The UN report concluded:
“The Committee welcomes the efforts of the State party to improve the laws with regard to persons below 18 in conflict with the law, in particular the Bill on the Establishment of Juvenile Courts mentioned in paragraph 8 above. However, it deplores the information referred to in paragraph 29 above that, despite the statement of the delegation made during the consideration of the second periodic report that, in view of that Bill, executions, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment of persons for having committed crimes before the age of 18 have been suspended, such executions and ill-treatment have continued since the consideration by the Committee of the State party’s initial report. The Committee remains concerned at the existing poor quality of the rules and practices in the juvenile justice system, reflected, inter alia, in the lack of statistical data, the limited use of specialized juvenile courts and judges, the low age of criminal responsibility, the lack of adequate alternatives to custodial sentences, and the imposition of torture and other cruel or inhuman punishment and in particular of the death penalty. “[10ag] (Para 72)
24.18 The USSD Report 2007 stated:
“Only a few cities had a youth prison, and minors were sometimes held with adult violent offenders. According to UN Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN) there were 300 boys and 40 girls at the Tehran youth prison, with the average age of 14, but some were as young as age six. Children whose parents could not afford court fees were reportedly imprisoned for petty offenses including shoplifting, wearing make-up, or mixing with the opposite sex.” [4t] (Section 5)
24.19 A 2007 article on the United Nations website stated that “Currently, there are also 23 juvenile correction centers to keep people under the age of 18 separate from other prisoners.” [10d]
24.20 The UN 38th session CRC report of March 2005 recorded that: “The Committee is concerned about the large number of children living in prisons with their mothers, their living conditions and the regulation of their care if they are separated from their mothers in prison.” [10ag] (Para 51)
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Death penalty for children
24.21 The Foreign Policy Centre’s (FPC) report, From Cradle to Coffin: A Report on Child Executions in Iran, published on 30 June 2009 stated that worldwide the number of child executions was increasing. Moreover, “Most of these child executions occur in the Islamic Republic of Iran, which for over a decade has had the highest levels of such executions in the world.” [49] (p13) The FCO’s Human Rights Report 2008 stated that: “Despite international condemnation, Iran continues the practice of juvenile executions...” [26b]
24.22 The FPC’s June 2009 report recorded that:
“This last decade has witnessed efforts by Iranians to take the interpretation of the law in a new direction, one that points to the abolition of juvenile execution. An example is the draft Juvenile Crimes Investigation Act already approved by Parliament. If accepted by the Islamic Council of Guardians, this limited bill will prevent certain hodoud and ta’zir crimes but will not put an end to qesas [qisas] crimes, which currently account for 90% of juvenile executions in Iran. Another significant effort is an increase in workshops, training and coordination of the nationwide judiciary, so that decisions by the central authorities are implemented throughout the country.” [49] (p56)
See also Penal Code
24.23 The Human Rights Watch 2009 report on Iran stated that “Iranian law allows death sentences for persons who have reached puberty, defined in law as age 9 for girls and 15 for boys.” [8f]
24.24 Reports of how many juvenile offenders had been executed in 2008 varied. The Hands Off Cain 2009 World Report stated that “In 2008, at least 13 juvenile offenders were put to death in Iran, the only country reported as having carried out the death penalty for those condemned of crimes committed before their eighteenth birthday.” [119a] The Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s (FCO) Human Rights Report 2008 stated that “At least seven juvenile offenders were executed in 2008, one of whom was under the age of 18 at the time of execution.” [26b]
24.25 The report of the Secretary-General to the United Nations on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, dated 23 September 2009, stated that his earlier report [of 1 October 2008] had highlighted the execution of juveniles in Iran “as a specific area of concern”. His September 2009 report stated that “The Islamic Republic of Iran continues to carry out such executions despite efforts by the judiciary to curb the practice. The imposition of the death penalty on individuals who commit crimes while under the age of 18 is a breach of both the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which the Islamic Republic of Iran is a party.” [10g] (p11)
24.26 The Amnesty International (AI) Annual Report 2009, released in May 2009, covering events in 2008, stated at least eight people were executed having been sentenced for crimes committed when they were under 18. AI also reported that around 133 juvenile offenders faced execution in contravention of international law. [9h] The UN Secretary-General’s report of 23 September 2009 noted that, according to AI, three juvenile offenders had reportedly been executed in 2009. Moreover, “Amnesty International also reported that from 1990 to 2009 the Islamic Republic of Iran had executed 41 juveniles, which had accounted for more than half of all worldwide reported child executions recorded in the same period and made the Islamic Republic of Iran the nation with the highest number of juvenile executions.” [10g] (p11)
24.27 The FPC’s June 2009 report stated that: “In the last five years alone there have been 33 child executions in Iran and as of June 2009, at least 160 juveniles wait on death row for a wide range of ‘offences’ including homosexuality, sex outside of marriage, apostasy, and involvement in school or street fights that result in a murder.” [49] (p13)
24.28 Defence for Children International’s (DCI) April 2009 Juvenile Justice Newsletter noted that Iran was one of four states known to have executed juvenile offenders since 2006, “with Iran being the state that executed the greatest number.” The DCI report continued:
“Despite a brief glimmer of hope at the end of 2008, Iran is not in the process of banning the death penalty for juvenile offenders. Capital punishment remains the sentence for a large number of offences. According to article 49 of the Islamic Penal Code, children are not considered criminally responsible for offences. However, in violation of international standards, the same article defines a child as someone who has not yet reached the age of puberty, defined as 15 lunar years for a boy and 9 lunar years for a girl as interpreted from the Sharia. There had been some previous attempts to change the law but the Parliament had never succeeded until now. In October 2008, an Iranian official declared that his country would abolish the death penalty for persons under 18 before retracting his statement two days later saying that it would not concern juvenile offenders found guilty of murder. Finally, in February 2009 a new law project was submitted to Parliament, though only time will tell if it will eventually result in Iran’s abolishment of the practice.” [17] (p3-4)
24.29 On 1 May 2009, AI reported that Delara Darabi had been executed by hanging at Rasht Central prison, following a conviction for murdering a relative in 2003 when she was 17:
“Amnesty does not consider her trial to have been fair. The courts refused to consider new evidence that her lawyer said would have proved she could not have committed the murder…The execution of Delara Darabi brings to at least 140 the number of executions in Iran so far this year. She is the second woman known to have been executed this year and the second child offender. Since 1990 Iran has executed at least 42 child offenders, eight of them in 2008 and one on 21 January 2009. These executions went ahead in total disregard of international law, which unequivocally bans the execution of those convicted of crimes committed when under the age of 18.” [9o]
See Death penalty
Violence against children
24.30 The Iran Human Rights Voice (IHRV) in an article dated 24 September 2008 stated that:
“Many non-governmental organizations supporting children’s rights believe child abuse cases have increased at an alarming rate within the recent years. Experts see increasing poverty and a crisis in the family foundation as the main causes of the increasing trend. According to statistics published by the child protection organization Protecting the Rights of Children, in 1386 (2007), compared to previous year, child abuse increased by 3.5 percent. The statistics have been prepared by the society and are not a true reflection of the actual data on the overall condition of society. According to Saeed Madani, an expert on social issues, “in a study that was done in 1380 (2001) in Tehran, 31 percent of students in middle school had been molested sexually in some shape or form”. Similar studies in other cities have shown a larger percentage of various forms of abuses. Nevertheless, people active in this area believe that the collection of reports on all forms of child abuse is overshadowed by cultural and traditional barriers.” [11a]
For information about child labour see Employment rights
Trafficking
24.31 The USSD’s Trafficking in Persons report of 16 June 2009 reported that:
“Iranian and Afghan children living in Iran are trafficked internally for the purpose of forced marriage, commercial sexual exploitation, and involuntary servitude as beggars or laborers to pay debts, provide income, or support drug addiction of their families. Iranian women and girls are also trafficked to Pakistan, Turkey, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom for commercial sexual exploitation.

There are reports of women and girls being sold for marriage to men in Pakistan for the purpose of sexual servitude.” [4v]

24.32 The USSD Report 2008 stated that: “Female citizens were trafficked internally for the purpose of forced prostitution. Citizen children were trafficked internally, and Afghan children were trafficked to the country for the purpose of forced commercial sexual exploitation and involuntary servitude as beggars and laborers.” [4a] (section 6)
See Trafficking

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Childcare and protection
24.33 The USSD Report 2008 stated:
“There was little information available to reflect how the government dealt with child abuse, including child labor. Abuse was largely regarded as a private family matter, and there was no evidence of progress as a result of 2005 UN Children's Fund actions to prevent child abuse in the country. According to the UN's Integrated Regional Information Network, child sexual abuse was rarely reported...There were reportedly significant numbers of children, particularly Afghan but also Iranian, working as street vendors in Tehran and other cities and not attending school.” [4a] (Section 5)
24.34 The UN 38th session CRC report of March 2005 stated that:

“The Committee welcomes the information, in paragraphs 95 and 96 of the State party’s report, that one of its priorities will be the development of child adoption in its lawful form and the provision of counselling services in that regard, but remains concerned at the lack of a clear legal and policy framework for various forms of alternative care, such as fostering, or kafalah. It is particularly concerned about the large number of orphaned children born out of wedlock, the large number of long-term orphans resulting from the Bam earthquake currently in institutional care, and the temporary placement of the children of drug addicts, who may be obliged to stay in institutional care for long periods, as well as the poor quality of supervision, monitoring and training of the staff of these institutions. It is also concerned about reports that a certain number of girls from these institutions are married off upon reaching the marriageable age (13 years).” [10ag] (Para 49)

24.35 Iran’s initial report (CRC/C/41/Add.5, July 1998) was considered by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child at its May/June 2000 session. It stated that it
“… should be noted that separation from parents against the will of children rarely takes place in the Islamic Republic of Iran due to cultural and religious attachments. Children have a special attachment to their parents and this attachment is not severed under normal circumstances, except in rare cases such as those involving abuse of the child by parents (for example), narcotics trafficking, immoral activities, or neglect by parents of their children. In such cases parentless children are placed in the institutions managed by the Welfare Organisation, NGOs and charitable bodies. The Judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran plans to establish institutions for the care of parentless children.” [10v]
24.36 The same source observed:
“According to Islamic principles, if a child for whatever reason cannot remain with his or her parents, he or she is given to one of the relatives, and in (a) case (where) there is no paternal relative, there are private places where children can be placed:
“a Nursery. This is a place where parentless children from infancy to five years of age are placed and cared for on a 24-hour basis. In the 10 nurseries operating in provincial centres there are more than 465 infants and children;
“b Day and Night Protection Services Complex. This is a place within the Urban Protection Services Complexes where children above the age of five are cared for, on the basis of separation by gender and 24-hour service, until the time they reach the legal age of maturity and are qualified to be released. The ceiling for the number of children that can be accepted in these units is nine. There are 38 such units nationwide which protect about 500 children;
“c Independent Day and Night Centre. This is an independent institution for children from 12 years to legal age that operates under the direct supervision of the Welfare Organisation for the purpose of providing for the physical, emotional and social needs of children. The ceiling for the number of children in these 24-hour units is 30. The total number of such independent units nationwide is 19 and they cover 561 children.” [10v]
24.37 Some families in Iran volunteer to raise and care for three to five children under the protection of the Welfare Organisation like other members of their own family. This method of foster parenting is mostly for girls up to 13 years of age who are without parents and relatives. About ten to 14 children without guardians accepted by the Welfare Organisation are placed with a committed family and can acquire their personality development within a family environment. By 1998, five houses for 51 girls had been established. (United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child at its May/June 2000 session) [10v]
24.38 In its response of 2 June 2000 to the Iranian Government’s report the Committee noted that whilst the State party’s report (CRC/C/41/Add.5) was prepared according to the Committee’s guidelines for reporting, the Committee regretted that the report was essentially legalistic and did not provide a self-critical evaluation of the prevailing situation of the exercise of children’s rights in the country. Moreover, the Committee noted that “the rights of the child were seen through a paternalistic lens; the child was not seen as an active subject of human rights. There were significant gaps in information relating to general measures of implementation, general principles, particularly non-discrimination and the best interests of the child, civil rights and freedoms and special protection measures.” [10w] (p1)
24.39 The UN 38th session CRC report of March 2005 stated that:
“The Committee continues to be concerned about the large number of children living and/or working in the streets, particularly in urban centres such as Tehran, Isfahan, Mashhad, and Shiraz. It regrets that the State party could not present studies on the extent and nature of the problem and is concerned that the centres known as ‘Khaneh Sabz’, ‘Khaneh Shoush’ and ‘Khaneh Reyhane’ homes, which were established to assist these children, albeit in a limited capacity, have been closed down. It is equally concerned at reports of the round-up and arrest of Afghan children in the streets despite the fact that they were registered with the authorities, and that as a ‘condition’ for their release the authorities request that their parents register for repatriation. The Committee welcomes the policy of the State party to reunite children with their families, whenever possible, and notes the State party’s assurances that these children are assembled in centres for further assistance and not arrested with police methods.” [10ag] (Para 64)
24.40 The UN thirty-eighth session CRC Report of March 2005 stated that: “The Committee is concerned at reports that drug abuse is on the increase, that the age of addiction has decreased, that there is a lack of statistical data in this regard and that a programme initiated in 1997 does not seem to be effective.” [10ag] (Para 66)