Such pressure has been found to contribute to force Afghan families to put their children to work in the street as an alternative source of income for the household. 75 There is a wide range of socioeconomic root causes at the origin of the high number of street children in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Poverty has been identified as one of the main root causes. The country has been suffering from international and U.S. sanctions that severely impacted the Iranian economy, ultimately impacting children’s social and economic rights. Additionally, the Iranian government has been trying to cope with further economic damages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, socio-cultural root causes have been also identified. The lack of protection provided by Iranian child labor laws and the reportedly weak monitoring of businesses have contributed to the employment of children working in the street. Additionally, discrimination and the lack of inclusion of migrants and refugees, notably of Afghan descent, have added extra social and economic pressure on families, pushing them to send their children to work in the street as an alternative source of income. C. The State Party should provide all street children with access to health services and education In its 2019 National Report to the Universal Periodic Review, the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran stated that “the center for management of street children of SWO [Social Welfare Organization], with the participation of interested NGOs, provides free protection and welfare services, with two family-centered and of mental-social harm reduction approaches.” 76 Additionally, the “Social Emergency of SWO, with its 350 centers throughout the country, provides a variety of supportive services to the child victims of violence or to the children exposed to maltreatment, child laborers and the street children under difficult and hard conditions”. 77 However, there is no information that might indicate the existence of protection systems providing specialized services on the street or the existence of trainings for social workers to ensure that social welfare assistance addresses adequately the needs of children in street situations. The Committee on the Rights of the Child stated that street children were at a greater risk of HIV/AIDS infections.78 This is due notably to the fact that they are prone to sexual abuses and drug use.79 80 The head of the Iranian AIDS Research Center reportedly stated that four to five percent of the children working in the street are HIV-positive.81 HIV-positive patients in general, particularly those living in the small cities and rural areas of the Islamic Republic of Iran, reportedly lack access to services and adequate facilities and face financial constraints, 75 Jamnews (2014) Average Income of Street Children[in Farsi], http://www.jamnews.ir/detail/News/431128, referenced by https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318729333_Transnationality_of_Child_Poverty_The_Case_of_Iranian_and_Afgha n_Street_Children_in_Tehran 76 National Report, UPR 2019, Islamic Republic of Iran, https://undocs.org/A/HRC/WG.6/34/IRN/1 77 National Report, UPR 2019, Islamic Republic of Iran, https://undocs.org/A/HRC/WG.6/34/IRN/1 78 CRC/C/IRN/CO/3-4, para. 87, https://undocs.org/en/CRC/C/IRN/CO/3-4 79 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318729333_Transnationality_of_Child_Poverty_The_Case_of_Iranian_and_Afgh an_Street_Children_in_Tehran 80 HIV/Aids in Street Children, Iranian Student News Agency published on 19 September 2014, http://isna.ir/fa/ news/93062816453/ 81 Radio Farda, https://en.radiofarda.com/a/thousands-of-children-forced-to-work-beg-in-the-streets-in-iran/30142546.html 7