Concluding Observations Human Rights Committee CCPR/C/IRN/CO/3 para 28 Full recommendation: The State party should eliminate discrimination on the basis of sex with regard to the minimum age for marriage. It should also ensure that the minimum age complies with international standards and should adopt active measures preventing forced, early and temporary marriage of girls. (art 23, 24) Assessment using Impact Iran human rights indicators1 Child marriage continues to be permitted under Iranian law. The legal minimum age for marriage is 13 for girls and 15 for boys.2 However, children who have reached puberty can marry with parental consent and court approval.3 The predefined age of puberty under the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the age of legal majority, is 9 lunar years for girls and 15 lunar years for boys.4 Marriage before puberty is criminalised under Article 50 of the Family Protection Act5 , while Article 646 of the Islamic Penal Code (2013) prescribes the punishment for such a crime.6 In 2018, a proposed amendment to Article 1041 of the Civil Code, that sought to raise the age of marriage for girls from 13 to 16 while allowing them to get married at a younger age with legal and medical approval, was rejected by the Parliament’s Committee for Judicial and Legal Affairs.7 In February 2019, the chair of the Committee stated that a “new plan” was to be introduced for the parliament’s approval and that of the Guardian Council.8 During its 2019 Universal Periodic Review, the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran also noted that bills that had already been drafted and were going through the adoption process dealt with the prohibition of early marriage, although they did not specify the age limitation. The Government additionally mentioned that it was raising awareness on the issue of child marriage in local communities.9 1 CCPR.23.3.S.1 CCPR.23.3.P.1 CCPR.23.3.O.1 2 Article 1041 of the Civil Code as amended up until December 2000, NGO Impact Iran Coalition, Joint Submission to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, 2016, https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CRC/Shared%20Documents/IRN/INT_CRC_NGO_IRN_19809_E.pdf 3 Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, https://iranhrdc.org/wpcontent/uploads/pdf_en/LegalCom/Womens_Rights_Commentary_389929723.pdf 4 Committee on the Rights of the Child, 2016, CRC/C/IRN/CO/3-4, paras. 27–28 https://undocs.org/en/CRC/C/IRN/CO/3-4 5 Universal Periodic Review, Iran, 2019, https://undocs.org/A/HRC/43/12 6 Islamic Penal Code (2013), Islamic Republic of Iran, Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, https://iranhrdc.org/islamicpenal-code-of-the-islamic-republic-of-iran-book-five/ 7 Amnesty International, UPR submission 2019, https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/MDE1305732019ENGLISH.PDF 8 Information from Impact Iran; see www.tasnimnews.com/fa/news/1397/11/17/1941311/ 9 Universal Periodic Review, Iran, 2019, https://undocs.org/A/HRC/43/12 1

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