Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
E/CN.4/2006/61/Add.3 para 72 (b)
Full recommendation:
With a view to the adoption and observation of international human rights standards the Special
Rapporteur recommends that the Government: Ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination against Women without reservations as soon as possible and bring
national laws into conformity with the Convention.
Assessment using Impact Iran human rights indicators1
A. The Special Rapporteur recommends that the Government ratifies the Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women without
reservations as soon as possible
The Islamic Republic of Iran has not ratified the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of
Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). The Government of Mohammad Khatami presented
a bill in order to ratify the Convention, which was adopted by the Parliament in August 2004.
However, the Guardian Council, the body in charge of giving the final approval in the adoption
process of laws in Iran, deemed the bill to be inconsistent with Islamic principles and norms, and
thus rejected it.
Article 3 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran stipulates that the State has a duty to
work towards “the abolition of all forms of undesirable discrimination and the provision of
equitable opportunities for all, in both the material and the intellectual spheres.”2 Article 20
guarantees that all citizens of Iran, men and women, enjoy the equal protection of the law and of
rights, “in conformity with the Islamic criteria.” Article 21 of the Constitution emphasises that “the
government must ensure the rights of women in all respects, in conformity with Islamic criteria”.
According to Article 4 of the Constitution, the Guardian Council of the Islamic Republic of Iran
is entrusted with determining and defining the framework of what constitutes “Islamic criteria” or
standards. Among the 12 non-elected members of the Guardian Council, only the six male clerics
directly appointed by the Supreme Leader are responsible for such task. While the aforementioned
provisions supposedly safeguard the human rights of women and protect them from discrimination,
such legal guarantees only exist as long as they are in conformity with “Islamic criteria.” The
opportunity for interpretation allowed under qualifications such as “in conformity with Islamic
criteria” has often resulted in provisions that discriminate or have a discriminatory impact on
various grounds, including gender.
1
CCPR.2.3.S.1; CCPR.3.1.S.1; CCPR.3.1.S.4; CCPR.16.1.S.1; CCPR.23.2.S.1; CCPR.23.4.S.1; CCPR.3.1.P.3; CCPR.16.1.P.1;
CCPR.23.2.P.1; CCPR.2.3.P.1; CCPR.2.3.O.4; CCPR.3.1.O.4
2
Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, https://irandataportal.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/constitution-english-1368.pdf
1