concern about the “poor living conditions in regions traditionally inhabited by ethnic
minorities”, including Sistan and Baluchestan, which “in some cases completely lacked basic
services such as electricity, plumbing, sewage systems […]”.11 In 2018, reportedly eight
individuals died after drinking contaminated water in the Tadanch village of the Awaran
district.12
The Iranian Government has reportedly engaged in a number of initiatives to improve the
quality and access to healthcare, notably through the 2014 Health Transformation plan. The
plan aimed at providing fair and universal health coverage in the Islamic Republic of Iran,
including by improving the quality and access to health services provided in deprived areas. 13
Additionally, the Sistan and Baluchestan province reportedly counted 57 new healthcare
centers in 2018, as part of a joint effort by the Health Ministry and the Barekat Foundation.14
Despite these efforts, studies have shown that the distribution of healthcare resources remains
unbalanced between provinces and between rural/urban areas. 15 The Special Rapporteur on
the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran reported that many inhabitants in
the Sistan and Baluchestan province have to travel to the provincial capital of Zahedan to
obtain hospital care. 16
In 2019, the U.N. Secretary General reported than less than 40% of Iranians had access to
proper wastewater treatment facilities.17 Poor provinces make up for most of these figures,
notably Sistan and Baluchestan where reportedly more than 3,000 villages receive potable
water exclusively from tankers.18 In January 2020, the Sistan and Baluchestan province was
hit by torrential rainfalls, triggering floods which reportedly damaged a significant number of
infrastructures, including 245 irrigation canals networks. 19
Water and sanitation in the Islamic Republic of Iran are under the responsibility of the Iranian
Ministry of Energy, which notably established the National Water and Wastewater
Engineering Company to coordinate the Ministry’s activities in water and wastewater
management.20 The Ministry of Energy has reportedly engaged in initiatives to supply
11
CRC/C/IRN/CO/3-4, paras. 75–76,
https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CRC/C/IRN/CO/3-4&Lang=En
12
Baloch Human Rights Organization, https://balochhumanrights.org/balochistan-contaminated-water-claims-8-lives-forceskilled-5-abducted-45-people/
13
US National Library of Medicine, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6998310/
14
Tehran Times, https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/429794/Charity-foundation-completes-building-57-healthcare-centers
15
Ranking of Iranian provinces based on healthcare infrastructures: before and after implementation of Health
Transformation Plan,
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/339032631_Ranking_of_Iranian_provinces_based_on_healthcare_infrastructures_b
efore_and_after_implementation_of_Health_Transformation_Plan
16
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, July 2019,
https://undocs.org/A/74/188
17
Report Secretary General, Situation of Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, February 2019, https://documentsdds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G19/028/77/PDF/G1902877.pdf?OpenElement
18
Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, https://iranhrdc.org/extreme-inequality-the-human-rights-situation-of-iransbaluch-minority/#_Toc13498842
19
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, https://reliefweb.int/report/iran-islamic-republic/iransistan-baluchestan-floods-emergency-plan-action-epoa-dref-0
20
https://www.nww.ir/en/About-Us/-About-NWWEC
2