children, regardless of their legal status, can have access to the national education system. 18
During its 2019 Universal Periodic Review, the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran
stated that 98.5% of eligible students, including refugees, were offered education free of
charge.19
In 2015, the Supreme Leader issued a decree enabling all Afghan children to attend public
schools.20 Following the decree the government engaged in a number of improvements for
refugees and undocumented Afghans, including through the creation of an educational
support card for undocumented Afghan children, or enabling their enrollment up to secondary
school diploma. 21 22 In 2019, UNHCR reported 480,000 Afghan children benefitting from
these inclusive education policies, including 130,000 undocumented Afghan children.23
Additionally, in 2019 the Iranian government enabled Iranian mothers who married a foreign
national to pass on their nationality to their children, provided that they have been cleared by
national security checks carried by the Intelligence Ministry and the Islamic Revolutionary
Guard Corps’ intelligence organization.24 The new law would reportedly, and in theory, allow
800,000 Afghan children to seek citizenship and therefore facilitate their access to
education.25 Despite these measures, many refugee children are believed to be out of school. 26
For instance, although refugees are exempt from paying school fees, other costs associated
with education are expensive and families often lack finances to allow their children to finish
their education. 27 28 29
C. The State party should 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
Article 30 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran guarantees free education for all
through the secondary level.30 The Law on the Protection of the Rights of Persons with
18
Report of the UN Secretary General, January 2020,
https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/IR/Report_of_the_SecretaryGeneral_on_the_situation_of_human_rights_in_the_Islamic_Republic_of_IranA4320.pdf
19
Universal Periodic Review, Islamic Republic of Iran, 2019, https://undocs.org/en/A/HRC/43/12/Add.1
20
UNHCR, https://www.unhcr.org/news/stories/2019/12/5defcb6f4/afghan-children-learn-side-side-iranian-peers.html
21
Paper commissioned for the 2019 Global Education Monitoring Report, Migration, displacement and education: Building
bridges, not walls https://www.alnap.org/system/files/content/resource/files/main/UNESCO-Final-Background-Paper.pdf
22
Paper commissioned for the 2019 Global Education Monitoring Report, Migration, displacement and education: Building
bridges, not walls https://www.alnap.org/system/files/content/resource/files/main/UNESCO-Final-Background-Paper.pdf
23
UNHCR, https://www.unhcr.org/news/stories/2019/12/5defcb6f4/afghan-children-learn-side-side-iranian-peers.html
24
Center for Human Rights in Iran, https://iranhumanrights.org/2019/10/children-born-to-non-iranian-fathers-win-right-tofile-for-citizenship-with-a-catch/
25
Info Migrants, https://www.infomigrants.net/en/post/20252/iran-recognizes-800-000-invisible-children
26
Radio Farda, https://en.radiofarda.com/a/afghan-refugee-children-denied-education-due-to-governmentinaction/29579021.html
27
Radio Farda, https://en.radiofarda.com/a/children-of-undocumented-afghan-refugees-exploited-in-iran/29596142.html
28
Paper commissioned for the 2019 Global Education Monitoring Report, Migration, displacement and education: Building
bridges, not walls https://www.alnap.org/system/files/content/resource/files/main/UNESCO-Final-Background-Paper.pdf
29
UNHCR, https://www.unhcr.org/news/briefing/2019/12/5dea18ac4/support-needed-refugee-education-iran.html
30
Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, English translation, https://irandataportal.syr.edu/wpcontent/uploads/constitution-english-1368.pdf
3