Concluding observations Committee on the Rights of the Child CRC/C/IRN/CO/3-4 para
88(b)
Full recommendation:
In coordination with NGOs and with children themselves, provide children in street situations
with the necessary protection, including a family environment, adequate health-care services, the
possibility to attend school and other social services.
Assessment using Impact Iran human rights indicators1
In its 2019 National Report to the Universal Periodic Review, the Government of the Islamic
Republic of Iran stated that “according to the law, all persons under the age of 18, with no or bad
guardian, regardless of religion, ethnicity and nationality, shall enjoy health care, education,
medical treatment, subsistence and custodian services” and added that “on the basis of the 6th
Development Plan Act, the Government is obliged to increase protection of […] street children
(Article 78), and to organize and reduce street children and child laborers. »2 In June 2020 the
Iranian Guardian Council passed a legislation that, among other provisions aimed at protecting
children, requires social workers from the State Welfare Organization to promptly investigate the
children in situation of “extreme danger” from abuse, exploitation, or being out of school,3 4
situations in which most of street children are. However, the law does not specifically address
children in street situations. Yet, in its General Comment No.21 on children in street situations,
the Committee on the Rights of the Child stipulates that States should “introduce or review an act
on child protection or children based on a child rights approach and that specifically addresses
children in street situations.” 5 There is no protection specifically tailored to children in street
situation under Iranian law.
In 2016, answering to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the Government of the Islamic
Republic of Iran stated that a range of relevant stakeholders and organizations had formed a
Council to deal with the issue of street children, without precising the membership of such
Council or the extent of its scope of work. The government added that there were 37 centers for
street children in operation in the country and daily care centers, or ‘drop off canters’ were
established in 15 provinces, “where the children could spend their time”.6 In its latest annual
report (March 2018 to March 2019), the State Welfare Organization reported 31 care centers for
1
CCPR.24.1.S.1
CCPR.24.1.P.2
CRC.19.1.O.3; CRC.19.1.O.4
2
National Report, UPR 2019, Islamic Republic of Iran, https://undocs.org/A/HRC/WG.6/34/IRN/1
3
Human Rights Watch https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/06/23/iran-child-protection-law-positive-insufficient
4
Parliament of the Islamic Republic of Iran, https://rc.majlis.ir/fa/legal_draft/state/1055680
5
General Comment No.21 on children in street situations, Committee on the Rights of the Child, CRC/C/GC/21,
https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CRC/C/GC/21&Lang=en
6
OHCHR News, https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=16940&LangID=E
1