Impact Iran

The Special Rapporteur further calls on the Government to ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and to amend laws that violate the rights of women, including the rights to freedom of movement and work and the right to be free from discrimination, especially in the workplace and in the hiring process. She urges the Islamic Republic of Iran to protect children born within its jurisdiction by facilitating the ability of women to pass on their citizenship to their sons and daughters, and to amend laws and regulations, including on dress code that infringe upon the rights of women and undermines their dignity. In the light of the high rates of child marriage, which is never in the best interest of the child, the Special Rapporteur reiterates her call upon the Government to take steps to ensure that the minimum age for marriage complies with international standards.

The Special Rapporteur recommends that the Government and Parliament: Implement the recommendations reflected in the opinions of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, and address patterns of violations highlighted by the Working Group with respect to dual and foreign nationals;

The Special Rapporteur calls on the Government to amend laws that violate the rights of women or that undermine their equal and full enjoyment of civil,political, social and economic rights, including the rights to freedom of movementand work and the right to be free from discrimination, especially in the workplace. Draft legislation currently under consideration that appears to infringe on these rights and that may incite violence against women should be reconsidered as a means of addressing national and international concern. The Government should also reconsider laws that insist that women must seek permission to travel from their spouses, and he urges the Islamic Republic of Iran to protect children born within its jurisdiction by facilitating the ability of women to pass on their citizenship to their sons and daughters.

Develop a comprehensive strategy to protect children in street situations and reduce their number, including identifying the underlying causes, such as poverty, family violence, migration, and lack of access to education, with the aim of preventing and reducing this phenomenon.

Ensure that immigration proceedings involving children are decided on the basis of the best interests of the child, and prevent separation of families during the deportation process.

Ensure that unaccompanied asylum-seeking and refugee children are given guardianship, free legal assistance with immigration proceedings, and access to adequate shelter, food, health care and education.

Systematically collect disaggregated data on its refugee and asylum-seeking children in order to be able to develop programmes and policies that respond to their needs;

The Committee strongly urges the State party to review the provisions of the Act on Determination of the Nationality of Children Born into Marriages of Iranian Women with Men of Foreign Nationality amending the Civil Code, and to ensure that all children who are born to Iranian mothers, including children born out of wedlock, are entitled to Iranian citizenship on the same conditions as children born to Iranian fathers. The Committee also recommends that the State party provide information on the number of children born to Iranian mothers who have been naturalized, in its next periodic report.

The Committee urges the State party to take measures to ensure the birth registration of all children, regardless of their parents' legal status and/or origin. The Committee urges the State party, in doing so, to ensure that children of registered refugees and unregistered foreigners are provided with birth certificates without any conditions.

The Committee recommends that the State party take effective measures, including accountability, to put an end to discrimination against religious, ethnic and linguistic minorities, children born out of wedlock and asylum-seeking and refugee children, and that it ensure that those responsible for any forms of discrimination against such groups are held accountable. Furthermore, the Committee recommends that the State party decriminalize same-sex relations and take measures to eliminate discrimination against LGBTI children.

The Committee recommends that the State party ensure that the national minimum wage is set at a level sufficient to provide all workers and their families with a decent standard of living, and strengthen its efforts towards the progressive increase of the minimum wage in accordance with article 7 (a) (ii) of the Covenant. The Committeealso recommends that the State party take steps to ensure that Afghan workers are not paid a wage below the level of the minimum wage.

The State party should amend the Civil Code and further amend the draft Family Protection Law, to (a) abolish the requirement for a father's or paternal grandfather's approval to legalize a marriage; (b) grant women equal rights to divorce; (c) award equal custody rights to the mother, including after a child reaches the age of seven or if she remarries; (d) award guardianship of a child to the mother in the case of the father's death; (e) grant women the same inheritance rights as men; (f) remove the legal obligation for a woman to be obedient to her husband; (g) remove the requirement for a husband's approval when a woman intends to leave the country; (h) prohibit polygamy; and (i) remove the power of a man to prohibit his wife from entering employment. The State party should also adopt legislation giving Iranian women the right to transmit their nationality to their children.