Impact Iran

The Special Rapporteur is grateful to the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran for its responses concerning Mr. Arzhang Davoodi and Mrs. Yeganeh Salehi. He is following closely further developments on the cases mentioned in the communication. Therefore, the Special Rapporteur would appreciate receiving information on the proceedings against Mr. Arzhang Davoodi and Mr. Jason Rezaian, as well as additional details on the case of Mrs. Yeganeh Salehi, who according to the information provided by the Government was released on bail on 1 October 2014. The Special Rapporteur regrets that the Government did not provide information on the allegations regarding the detention of the other two journalists on the evening of 22 July 2014. He urges authorities in the Islamic Republic of Iran that all proceedings fully comply with international law standards.

The Committee urges the State party to take measures to prevent and eliminate discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief and to ensure that members of religious minority groups, in particular persons of the Baha'i faith, are not persecuted, imprisoned or ill-treated on the account of their religion. The Committee also recommends that the State party review its hijab laws and regulations and ensure that the right of girls to wear or not to wear the hijab is fully respected.

The State party should take steps to combat and prevent the trafficking and sale of persons under 18 years of age. The State party is also requested to provide the Committee in its next periodic report with statistics, on an annual basis, on the number of arrests and convictions under the 2004 law to combat trafficking.

Collect data on children with disabilities and develop an efficient system for diagnosing disability, which is necessary for putting in place appropriate policies and programmes for children with disabilities;

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 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.

Ensure prompt registration of all its asylum-seeking and refugee children in order to provide them with access to all basic services, including health care and education for free.

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 Special Rapporteur recommends that Parliament: Withdraw the general reservation to the Convention on the Rights of the Child given that such a general reservation is not compatible with the object and purpose of the Convention;

The Committee urges the State party to revise the Act on the Protection of Children and Adolescents with No Guardian or Abusive Guardians of 2012 in a way that prohibits any marriage or other sexual arrangements with an adopted child. It also recommends that the State party take all necessary measures to ensure the right of all children, especially children belonging to ethnic minorities, to grow up in a family environment. The Committee recommends that the State party take into account the Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children, which are annexed to General Assembly resolution 64/142.

Establish procedures whereby custody rights are determined by a judicial process in accordance with the principle of the best interests of the child;

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.

Support family reunification programmes if in the best interests of the child.

Introduce and enforce national laws prohibiting all forms of child marriage and ensure that children who have been married can file a complaint on family matters such as divorce and custody of their children, and for financial compensation;

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 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 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 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.

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.

The State party should consider abolishing the death penalty or at least revise the Penal Code to restrict the imposition of the death penalty to only the "most serious crimes", within the meaning of article 6, paragraph 2, of the Covenant and the Committee's general comment No. 6 (1982) on the right to life. It should ensure that, whenever it is imposed, the requirements of articles 6 and 14 of the Covenant are fully met. It should also ensure that everyone sentenced to death, after exhaustion of all legal avenues of appeal, has an effective opportunity to exercise the right to seek pardon or commutation of sentence from the relevant authorities. The State party should furthermore prohibit the use of public executions, as well as stoning as a method of execution.

The State party should ensure that all members of ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities enjoy effective protection against discrimination and are able to enjoy their own culture and use their own language in media and schools, participate in public affairs and are provided with effective remedies against discrimination.

The Committee recommends that the State party take all possible measures to raise the awareness of its public, including children, about the provisions of the Convention through awareness-raising programmes, such as campaigns, and that it ensure that the Convention is part of the mandatory curriculum in all schools for children of all age groups. The Committee also recommends that the State party continue to provide regular and systematic training activities on the provisions of the Convention for law enforcement officials, the judiciary and other professionals working with and for children throughout the country.

The Committee recommends that the State party review its laws and policies in order to provide children with age-appropriate information and that it take measures to ensure a reasonable balance between the threat to national security and freedom of expression.

In light of its general comment No. 13 (2011) on the right of the child to freedom from all forms of violence, and taking note of Sustainable Development Goal 16.2 to end abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children, the Committee strongly urges the State party to immediately repeal all provisions which authorize or condone cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of children. It also recommends that the State party put an end to public executions, which have an irreversible negative effect on the mental health of children who witness them, by implementing the above-mentioned decree. Furthermore, the Committee urges the State party to ensure that LGBTI children are not subjected to cruel and degrading treatment such as electric shocks and the administration of hormones and strong psychoactive medications, and that those responsible for these acts are held accountable.

In the light of its general comment No. 4 (2003) on adolescent health and development, the Committee recommends that the State party adopt a comprehensive sexual and reproductive health policy for adolescents throughout the country and ensure that sexual and reproductive health education is part of the mandatory school curriculum and is targeted at adolescent girls and boys, with special attention to preventing early pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. It also urges the State party to take measures to provide LGBTI children with access to information on gender identity and sexual orientation.

The Committee recommends that domestic laws should be revised with a view to curtailing the number of offences currently punishable by the death penalty and to reducing the number of executions. Public executions should be avoided and the accused should, in all cases, be provided with all necessary guarantees, including the right to a fair trial as provided for under article 14 of the Covenant.

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 personscurrently 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.

The Committee recommends that the State party address the high drop-out rate of girls in rural areas and of Ahwazi Arab children. The Committee recommends that the State party take measures to address the high illiteracy rates among Ahwazi Arabs and Azeris. It also recommends that the State party take steps to improve the quality of instruction in and physical infrastructure of schools in rural areas, and to increase the number of female teachers in rural areas.

The Committee recommends that the State party intensify its efforts to ensure that all children receive birth certificates and that the lack of such a document is not an impediment for school enrolment of a child. It recommends that the State party take measures to ensure that refugee children have access to education, regardless of whether their parents have registered with the authorities, and that primary education, including enrolment thereto, is offered free of charge. The Committee also recommends that the State party intensify its measures to guarantee an inclusive education for children with disabilities, including through the Organization for Special Children and the Seven-Point Guideline for Universal and Consolidated Education for Children and Students with Special Needs, and to ensure that all children of nomadic communities have access to primary education, including through the establishment of mobile schools.

Set up comprehensive measures to develop inclusive education and ensure that inclusive education is given priority over the placement of children in specialized institutions and classes;