Concluding Observation Committee on the Rights of the Child CRC/C/IRN/CO/3-4 para
54
Full recommendation:
In light of its general comment No. 13 (2011) on the right of the child to freedom from all forms
of violence, and taking note of Sustainable Development Goal 16.2 to end abuse, exploitation,
trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children, the Committee strongly
urges the State party to immediately repeal all provisions which authorize or condone cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment of children. It also recommends that the State party put an end
to public executions, which have an irreversible negative effect on the mental health of children
who witness them, by implementing the above-mentioned decree. Furthermore, the Committee
urges the State party to ensure that LGBTI children are not subjected to cruel and degrading
treatment such as electric shocks and the administration of hormones and strong psychoactive
medications, and that those responsible for these acts are held accountable.
Assessment using Impact Iran human rights indicators1
a. Committee strongly urges the State party to immediately repeal all provisions which
authorize or condone cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of children.
Iran’s penal law provides for about 149 offenses that are punishable by flogging, according to the
Abdorrahman Boroumand Foundation.2 Flogging for each individual offense can range from 10
lashes to over 100. These punishments would constitute torture under Article 19 and 37(a) of the
Convention. Based on the age of majority in the Penal Code, girls above the age of 9 lunar years
and boys above the age of 15 lunar years can be flogged for criminal offenses, although revisions
in the 2013 Penal Code provide for some mitigation. (For explanation of mitigations, see section
148 on child executions). It is currently unclear whether these revisions have impacted
sentencing.3
As all Iranian laws have religious (Shia Islam) roots, many cases of acts of violence against
children are not recognized as violence and are attributed to the right of a parent to discipline
their child, this includes violence in child-rearing situations and parents or guardians disciplining
children within the household. After a particularly gruesome incident in 2016, where a father
beheaded his child, Government officials and international organizations highlighted these
deficiencies in Iran and the government pledged to enforce protective laws on children exposed
to violence.4 For this reason, the Iranian government prepared a bill entitled "The Law on
Protection and Protection of Children and Teenagers from Violence" and submitted it to
parliament for due process. This law had been submitted in 2012 but was stalled in Parliament. It
was resubmitted by President Rouhani’s government in 2016 and was ultimately approved by the
Guardian Council on June 7th 2020. The new law introduces several updates to a previous law
passed in 2003, in the form of new procedures for social workers to investigate the situation of
1 CRC.37.1.S.1; CRC.37.1.P.1; CRC.37.1.O.1
2
Abdorrahman Boroumand Foundation, Flogging Interactive, available at: https://iranrights.org/projects/flogging.
3
Impact Iran submission to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, review of the 3rd and 4th periodic reports of the Islamic
Republic of Iran
4
Human Rights Watch
1