Concluding Observations Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights
E/C.12/IRN/CO/2 para 28
Full recommendation
The Committee recommends that the State party intensify its efforts to ensure that all children
receive birth certificates and that the lack of such a document is not an impediment for school
enrolment of a child. It recommends that the State party take measures to ensure that refugee
children have access to education, regardless of whether their parents have registered with
the authorities, and that primary education, including enrolment thereto, is offered free of
charge. The Committee also recommends that the State party intensify its measures to
guarantee an inclusive education for children with disabilities, including through the
Organization for Special Children and the Seven-Point Guideline for Universal and
Consolidated Education for Children and Students with Special Needs, and to ensure that all
children of nomadic communities have access to primary education, including through the
establishment of mobile schools.
Assessment using Impact Iran human rights indicators1
A. The State party should intensify its efforts to ensure that all children receive
birth certificates and that the lack of such document is not an impediment for
school enrolment of a child
Article 20 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran stipulates that “all citizens of the
country, both men and women, equally enjoy the protection of the law and enjoy all human,
political, economic, social, and cultural rights, in conformity with Islamic criteria”.2
Therefore, non-citizens living in the Islamic Republic of Iran are excluded from this legal
protection. The birth certificate is considered as proof of Iranian nationality,3 and the lack of
state-issued identification thereof can create barriers for children to be enrolled in a school. 4
Reports have shown that obtaining birth certification may be difficult, particularly for those
living in rural areas. The reported lack of birth certificate registrations offices in small cities
and villages and lack of transportation to larger cities 5 are among identified challenges.
Additionally, the time-consuming and complicated process to obtain birth certificates has
been found to create legal, administrative, financial and cultural barriers.6
1
ESCR.13.1.S.1; ESCR.13.1.S.3; ESCR.13.2.S.1; ESCR.14.1.S.1
ESCR.13.1.P.2 ; ESCR.13.1.P.3; ESCR.14.1.P.1
ESCR.13.1.O.4; ESCR.13.2.O.2; ESCR.13.2.O.4; ESCR.13.1.O.6; ESCR.14.1.O.1;
2
Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, English translation, https://irandataportal.syr.edu/wpcontent/uploads/constitution-english-1368.pdf
3
Universal Periodic Review, Islamic Republic of Iran, 2019, https://undocs.org/A/HRC/WG.6/34/IRN/3
4
US Department of State, https://www.state.gov/reports/2019-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/iran/
5
Minority Rights Group, https://minorityrights.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Rights-Denied-Violations-against-ethnicand-religious-minorities-in-Iran.pdf
6
NGO Submission, Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion, Eindhoven; Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights, UPR
2019, Islamic Republic of Iran, https://undocs.org/A/HRC/WG.6/34/IRN/3
1