Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran
A/HRC/34/65 para 83
Full recommendation
While noting as positive the willingness on the part of the Government to explore steps to reduce
the number of executions in the country, the Special Rapporteur is, however, deeply concerned
over the alarming level of executions, including of juveniles, in the country. She urges the
Government to immediately and unconditionally prohibit the sentencing of children to death and
to engage in a comprehensive process to commute all the death sentences that were handed
down to persons currently on death row in respect of crimes committed when the person was
under the age of 18 years. The Special Rapporteur reiterates the calls made by the previous
mandate holder to establish a moratorium on the death penalty and urges the Government to
accelerate the process of amending its Anti-narcotic Law and to replace the death penalty for
drug-related offences by penalties which comply with relevant international standards. The
Government should also put an end to public executions.
Assessment using Impact Iran human rights indicators1
A. The Special Rapporteur urges the Government to immediately and
unconditionally prohibit the sentencing of children to death
The Islamic Penal Code (2013)2 establishes the age of criminal responsibility at 9 lunar years for
girls and 15 lunar years for boys.3 However, the age of responsibility for ta’zir crimes (crimes for
which fixed penalties are not provided in Islamic law giving the judge discretion as to the
sentence imposed) is 18 years for all children. For ta’zir crimes, convicted children are sentenced
to correctional measures. In contrast, criminal responsibility for crimes punishable by hudud
(punishments fixed by God) or qisas (punishment or retribution in kind), which carry mandatory
punishments such as death, is maintained at the age of “maturity”, which is 9 lunar years for girls
and 15 lunar years for boys.
The law on the “Protection of Children and Adolescents”,4 adopted in June 2020, provides
alternative punishments for persons under the age of 18 except for crimes under qisas and hudud,
where the Islamic Penal Code sentences prevails.5
1
CCPR.6.5.S.1; CRC.6.1.S.2; CCPR.6.5.P.1; CCPR.6.5.O.1; CCPR.6.5.O.2
Article 146 and 147, Islamic Penal Code (2013), English translation, Iran Human Rights Documentation Center,
https://iranhrdc.org/english-translation-of-books-i-ii-of-the-new-islamic-penal-code/
3
Article 1210, note 1
4
The law adopted on May 12, 2020 : < https://shenasname.ir/laws/6788 >
5
Article 25 of the law of “Protection of Children and Adolescents”.
2
1