Every year when Iran’s budget bill is published, prominent experts have discussed budgetary
deficiencies or cuts concerning children. There are no additional details demonstrating what
programs or budget lines were initially proposed by relevant agencies, or at what point, by
whom, or why these programs, or budget lines, were not included in the final national budget. In
practice, the Iranian government has not adjusted its budgeting approach to prioritize the funding
of children’s rights related programs and policies.5
Currently, Iran’s planning and budgeting procedure does not have a publicly available tracking
system for the allocation and use of resources for children. The full text of the annual budget is
made available to the public at the end of each year; however, details on organizational spending
is never made public. The National Audit Office, overseen by Parliament, receives detailed
reports related to the budget, but those reports are not made public. The lack of published reports
regarding the spending of resources makes it impossible to properly assess the efficiency of
spending related to children’s needs.
B. Use the tracking system for impact assessments on how investments in any sector
may serve the best interests of the child, ensuring that the different impact of such
investment on girls and boys is measured.
The Supreme Audit Court of Iran,6 which receives its mandate from the Constitution,7 is
responsible for preparing audit reports of the national budget. At the end of each year, the
institution is required to review and publish the performance of various ministries, organizations,
State companies and other bureaus that use the country's budget. However, Iran’s Parliament
typically only publishes a summary of the report.8 For this reason, the effectiveness of the budget
tracking system and its impact on any sector serving children's rights – including the differential
impact of investment on boys and girls – cannot be rigorously examined.
Furthermore, there has been no indication or report, to date, that other government agencies have
tracked or conducted impact assessments on how State funding in various sectors may be serving
children’s best interests. One possible explanation for this lacuna is the absence of a centralized
body responsible for planning for children. Currently, responsibility for various aspects of
children's rights and welfare is scattered across different government institutions. For example,
institutions such as the National Welfare Organization, the Imam Khomeini’s Relief Committee,
the Judiciary, the Police, the Ministry of Islamic Guidance, the Ministry of Education, the
Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Health, and the
5
The head of the Iranian Social Welfare Association announced: "Worrying reduction of children's budget in 1399", Quds
Newspaper: http://www.qudsonline.ir/news/692588/; Experts stated: "Children, forgotten in the law and budget of 2019 / The need
for social protection of children", Iqna News Agency: https://iqna.ir/fa/news/3794908/
6
The Supreme Audit Court of Iran: https://www.dmk.ir/
7
Articles 54 and 55 of the Constitution.
8
https://rc.majlis.ir/fa
2