development of the accused at the time of the offence was “arbitrary and inconsistent, and at the
sole discretion of the judge, who can choose whether to seek medical advice or not”.7
Over the years, several executions of child offenders have been commuted in Iran, however,
these reports are rare.8
At least four juvenile offenders were executed in both 2019 and 2020 respectively.9 10 In his
January 2020 report, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic
Republic of Iran wrote that “he continues to monitor the situation of child offenders on death
row, and has received information that there are at present at least 100 individuals who have
been sentenced to death for crimes committed when they were under 18 years of age”.11
The prohibition on the imposition of the death penalty on children is widely considered to be jus
cogens under international law and represents a violation of Articles 6(5) of the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and 37(a) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The Human Rights Committee has explicitly stipulated that the death penalty cannot be imposed
if it cannot be proven, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the accused was 18 or older at the time of
the offence.12
As of March 2021, no circular which requires all judges not to sentence children to death on the
basis of qisas or hudud crimes, and which requires presiding judges to order retrials for all
children offenders on death row without recourse to the death penalty, has been issued.
Recommendation Status:
This recommendation has NOT been implemented.
7
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, January 2019,
https://undocs.org/Home/Mobile?FinalSymbol=A%2FHRC%2F40%2F67&Language=E&DeviceType=Desktop
8
For more, please see: Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran https://www.iranrights.org/projects/omidmap
9
ECPM, Iran Human Rights: https://www.ecpm.org/wp-content/uploads/Rapport-iran-2020-gb-070420-WEB.pdf
10
https://iranhr.net/en/articles/4727
11
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, January 2020,
https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/IR/Report_of_the_Special_Rapporteur_on_the_situation_of_human_rights_in_the_
Islamic_Republic_of_IranA4361.pdf
12
UN Human Rights Committee (HRC), General comment no. 36, Article 6 (Right to Life), 3 September
2019, CCPR/C/GC/35, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5e5e75e04.html
2