Despite some positive steps, including the introduction of the Anti-Trafficking Law and the
Judiciary Guidelines, there still are not comprehensive mechanisms for protecting children from
trafficking and sale, nor is there a clear procedure for investigating and reporting legal violations.
Furthermore, there is insufficient information and statistics on the performance of State
institutions responsible for preventing and eliminating trafficking and sale of persons under 18
years old. It is not possible to conduct a comprehensive assessment of how laws and
administrative regulations impact the number of children or reported number of children
(disaggregated as a proportion of the total) who are abducted, sold or trafficked for any purpose
in any shape or form.
In summary, the problem of human trafficking and sale of minors old still persists in Iran, and is
still occasionally reported on by the media.11
B. Take all appropriate legislative and administrative measures to ensure that
traffickers are prosecuted, convicted and punished
As mentioned in the previous section, the trafficking of children has been criminalised under the
Anti-Human Trafficking Law with a maximum penalty of 15 years imprisonment.12 A draft
amendment to this law, which would expand the scope of offences and increase the punishment
if the victims are children or women, was under review by Parliament as of February 2021.13
All law enforcement agencies are obligated to accept reports and take action on alleged cases of
human trafficking, including children trafficking, but the main agencies that deal with human
traffickers are the Police Department and the Ministry of Intelligence and Security. These
institutions are responsible for receiving and following up on complaints. Police stations are
usually the source of complaints because they are more accessible to the public, though the
Ministry of Information and Security, in cooperation with other security agencies, has more
responsibility for identifying and dealing with smugglers' networks.
Criminal proceedings in cases related to human trafficking do not have a separate procedure, and
criminal procedure that applies to other laws, including the Islamic Penal Code, also applies to
cases related to human trafficking. Therefore, all of the shortcomings of the Code of Criminal
Procedure14 remain in this regard. These include restrictions on access to a lawyer15 from the
beginning of detention, and other issues related to a fair trial under Iranian law.
11
https://iranwire.com/fa/special-features?filter=ht
https://rc.majlis.ir/fa/law/show/94178
13
https://www.mizanonline.com/0028NJ; and https://rc.majlis.ir/fa/legal_draft/show/1597246
14
Criminal Procedure Code: https://shenasname.ir/laws/2327-keifari
15
Article 48 of the Criminal Procedure Code
12
3