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

Select target paragraph3