Concluding Observations Committee on the Rights of the Child CRC/C/IRN/CO/3-4 para
38
Full recommendation:
The Committee strongly urges the State party to repeal article 301 of the Islamic Penal Code,
and ensure that all perpetrators of murders committed in the name of so-called “honour”
receive penalties commensurate with the gravity of their crimes. The Committee urges the State
party to carry out prompt and thorough investigations into all these cases, to prosecute
perpetrators and to ensure that those found guilty are given appropriate sentences.
Assessment using Impact Iran human rights indicators1
An honour killing is defined as a murder committed or ordered by a husband, a father, a brother
or another relative as a punishment to a family member who is seen to have damaged the
family’s reputation by their actions.
The Iranian legal framework is permissive of the perpetration of honor killings as it does not
specifically criminalise such crimes. The Islamic Penal Code (2013) stipulates that the qisas
punishment (retribution in kind) that applies to a perpetrator of a murder, does not apply to a
father or a paternal grandfather who kills his own child. As such, they are not subject to
proportional punishments but rather reduced sentences. For instance, the father, if found guilty,
may face between three and 10 years in prison.2 Such exemptions and absence of deterrent
punishment may well exacerbate the risk of honour killings.3
Additionally, the Islamic Republic of Iran does not have laws which specifically criminalise
domestic violence, which may well facilitate the perpetration of honour killings. Article 630 of
the Islamic Penal Code (2013) allows husbands to commit murder against their wife if the
husband catches their wife committing a zina offence (adultery and fornication) with another
man.4 Article 1105 of the Iranian Civil Code recognises the husband as the head of the family,
which means that his orders must be respected by his wife and children.5 ‘Disobedience’ can be
used as a legal ground for battery.6
1
CCPR.9.1.S.3; CRC.19.1.S.1
CCPR.9.1.P.3; CRC.19.1.P.1
CCPR.9.1.O.3 ; CRC.19.1.O.1
2
Penal Code, arts. 301 and 348. See note 25.
3
See Articles 299 to 303 of the Islamic Penal Code (2013)
4
Iran Human Rights Documentation Centre https://iranhrdc.org/islamic-penal-code-of-the-islamic-republic-of-iran-book-five/
5
Amnesty International, 2015, https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/MDE1311112015ENGLISH.pdf
6
Iran Human Rights Documentation Centre https://iranhrdc.org/wpcontent/uploads/pdf_en/LegalCom/Womens_Rights_Commentary_389929723.pdf
1