Concluding Observations Committee on the Rights of the Child CRC/C/IRN/CO/3-4 para
70
Full recommendation:
The Committee draws the State party’s attention to its general comment No. 15 (2013) on the
right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health, and recommends
that the State party take all necessary measures to prevent early pregnancies by prohibiting child
marriages and providing access to contraceptives and to safe abortion, and to post-abortion
care services, throughout the country. It also recommends that the State party decriminalise
abortions in all circumstances and ensure that the views of the pregnant girl are always heard
and respected in abortion decisions. Furthermore, the Committee recommends that the State
party take measures to increase the allocation of public funds to improve the health situation of
inhabitants of remote areas, focusing in particular on the health infrastructure. In doing so, the
State party should seek financial and technical assistance from UNICEF and the World Health
Organisation, among others.
Assessment drafted using Impact Iran indicators1
A. Prohibiting child marriages
Child marriage continues to be permitted under Iranian law. The legal minimum age for marriage
is 13 for girls and 15 for boys2, though children who have reached puberty can marry with
parental consent and court approval.3 The predefined age of puberty under the Islamic Republic
of Iran, and the age of legal majority, is 9 lunar years for girls and 15 lunar years for boys.4
Marriage before puberty is criminalised in accordance with Article 50 of the Family Protection
Act5 and is punished under Article 646 of the Islamic Penal Code (2013).6
In 2018, a proposed amendment to Article 1041 of the Civil Code that would raise the age of
marriage for girls from 13 to 16, while allowing earlier marriage with legal and medical
approval, was rejected by the Parliament’s Committee for Judicial and Legal Affairs.7 In
February 2019, the chair of the Committee stated that a “new plan” would be introduced for
1
CRC.19.1.S.1; ESCR.12.1.S.6; CRC.19.1.P.1; ESCR.12.1.O.11; CCPR.3.O.2
Article 1041 of the Civil Code as amended up until December 2000, NGO Impact Iran Coalition, Joint Submission
to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, 2016
3
Iran Human Rights Documentation Center
4
Committee on the Rights of the Child, 2016, CRC/C/IRN/CO/3-4, paras. 27–28
https://undocs.org/en/CRC/C/IRN/CO/3-4
5
Universal Periodic Review, Iran, 2019, https://undocs.org/A/HRC/43/12
6
Islamic Penal Code (2013), Islamic Republic of Iran, Iran Human Rights Documentation Center,
https://iranhrdc.org/islamic-penal-code-of-the-islamic-republic-of-iran-book-five/
7
Amnesty International, UPR submission 2019
2
1