health, education, international fundraising, Amayesh registration, issuance of travel permits,
registration and issuance of marriage certificates, coordination with other ministries on refugee
affairs, as well as official visits and coordination between all governmental departments
responsible for refugee affairs. A majority of services provided to the refugee and asylum seeking
population in the Islamic Republic of Iran come from the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR), which works in partnerships with BAFIA and other Governmental
institutions such as the Ministry of Education, the Literacy Movement Organisation, the Ministry
of Health, the State Welfare Organisation, the Technical and Vocational Training Organisation,
as well as the Iran Health Insurance Organisation.5 Services and protection include legal assistance,
support with regards to immigration proceedings and documentation, provision of basic needs and
essential services such as health care, shelter and education.6
However, there is no readily available information that might suggest that the Islamic Republic of
Iran ensures in practice that immigration proceedings involving children are decided on the basis
of the best interests of the child or to avoid the separation of families during the deportation
process. Similarly, there is no readily available information that might suggest that staff in charge
of immigration proceedings have received trainings with regards to child protection and the best
interests of the child. There is no evidence of the existence of an easily accessible complaint
mechanism for children seeking refugee status when not afforded with appropriate protection and
assistance.
There is very little official disaggregated data with regards to the refugee and asylum-seeking
population in the Islamic Republic of Iran. For instance, there is no readily available official and
recent data that might indicate the number of children who sought refugee status or who are
considered refugee in the Islamic Republic of Iran in recent years. It is therefore difficult to make
a proper assessment of whether immigration proceedings involving children are decided on the
basis of the best interest of the child and whether the separation of families during the
deportation process is avoided.
In its submission to the Committee on the Rights of the Child in 2015, Human Rights Watch
reported cases of Afghan migrant children suggesting that “Iranian authorities frequently detain
children in transit detention facilities without due process guardianship, or access to a
lawyer”.7 Reportedly, Iran deported an “estimated 2000 unaccompanied Afghan children through
the Islam Qala border crossing with Afghanistan alone”. Many children travelling to Iran were
separated from their families during the deportation process, with no opportunity to challenge
deportation.8
5
UNHCR, https://reporting.unhcr.org/sites/default/files/UNHCR%20Iran%20Fact%20Sheet%20-%20Apr-Jun%202020.pdf
UNHCR, https://reporting.unhcr.org/node/2527?y=2020#year
7
Human Rights Watch, https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/03/13/iran-submission-committee-rights-child
8
Human Rights Watch, https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/03/13/iran-submission-committee-rights-child
6
2