Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
E/CN.4/2006/61/Add.3 para.72 (e)
Full recommendation:
With a view to the adoption and observation of international human rights standards the Special
Rapporteur recommends that the Government: (e) Fully implement the recommendations of the
Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC/C/15/Add.254) and of the Special Rapporteur on
adequate housing, contained in the report on his mission to Iran (E/CN.4/2006/41/Add.2).
Assessment using Impact Iran human rights indicators1
A. Fully implement the recommendations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child
(CRC/C/15/Add.254)
Among the recommendations formulated by the Committee on the Rights of the Child in 2005, the
Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran was called “to review all its legislation to ensure that
it is non-discriminatory and gender neutral and that it is enforced”.2 In 2016, the Committee also
urged “the State to urgently repeal its laws and policies that are discriminatory against girls” and
“to revise its legislation in order to ensure that girls enjoy the same rights and entitlements as boys
in all aspects of life”.3
Article 3 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran stipulates that the State has a duty to
work towards “the abolition of all forms of undesirable discrimination and the provision of
equitable opportunities for all, in both the material and the intellectual spheres.”4 Article 20
guarantees that all citizens of Iran, men and women, enjoy the equal protection of the law and of
rights, “in conformity with the Islamic criteria.” Article 21 emphasizes that “the government must
ensure the rights of women in all respects, in conformity with Islamic criteria”. According to
Article 4 of the Constitution, the Guardian Council of the Islamic Republic of Iran is entrusted
with defining and determining the framework of what constitutes the “Islamic criteria” or
standards. Among the 12 non-elected members of the Guardian Council, only the six male clerics
directly appointed by the Supreme Leader are responsible for such task. While the aforementioned
provisions supposedly safeguard the human rights of women and protect them from discrimination,
such legal guarantees only exist as long as they are in conformity with “Islamic criteria.” The
opportunity for interpretation allowed under the qualifications such as “in conformity with Islamic
1
CCPR.3.1.S.1; CCPR.23.4.S.1; CCPR.23.3.S.1; CRC.8.1.S.1; ESCR.3.S.1; ESCR.11.1.S.1; ESCR.11.1.S.3
CCPR.3.1.P.3; CCPR.16.1.P.1; CCPR.23.2.P.1; CCPR.23.3.P.1; ESCR.2.2.P.3; ESCR.2.2.P.1; ESCR.2.2.P.2; ESCR.11.1.P.1;
ESCR.11.1.P.2; CCPR.3.1.O.4; CCPR.23.3.O.1; CRC.8.1.O.2; CCPR.2.1.O.1; ESCR.2.2.O.2; ESCR.11.1.O.2
2
CRC, 2005,
https://undocs.org/Home/Mobile?FinalSymbol=CRC%2FC%2F15%2FAdd.254&Language=E&DeviceType=Desktop
3
CRC, 2016,
https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CRC%2fC%2fIRN%2fCO%2f34&Lang=en
4
Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, https://irandataportal.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/constitution-english-1368.pdf
1