Impact Iran

The Committee requests the State party to submit in a timely manner its third periodic report, prepared in accordance with the revised reporting guidelines of the Committee, adopted in 2008 (E/C.12/2008/2), by 31 May 2018.

The Committee calls on the State party to raise the minimum age of marriage to 18 years for both boys and girls, and to ensure that marriage can be entered into only with the free consent of the intending spouses.

The Committee recommends that the State party should spell out a clear legislative, judicial and administrative basis for giving fullest possible effect to the provisions of the Covenant "with a view to achieving progressively the full realization of the rights recognized in the present Covenant by all appropriate means, including particularly the adoption of legislative measures." (art. 2 (1) of the Covenant).The Committee invites the Government of Iran to undertake necessary steps, both legislative and practical, in order to ensure that the rights enunciated in the Covenant are able to be exercised without discrimination of any kind as to race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, especially in the case of ethnic or religious minorities. The Committee notes that the obligation to ensure equal opportunity for women warrants particular attention, especially in relation to the right to work, family related rights and the right to education.

The Committee encourages the State party to consider signing and ratifying the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

The Committee encourages the State party to sign and ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Conventionagainst Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, and the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, and withdraw its reservation to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The Committee recommends that the State party take all necessary steps to further reduce poverty and extreme poverty, in particular in provinces populated by ethnic minorities, such as Sistan and Baluchestan, Khuzestan and Kordestan. The Committee requests the State party to include in its next periodic report disaggregated and comparative data, by year and province, on the number of men and women living in poverty and extreme poverty.

The Committee recommends that the State party ensure that all the obligations of the Covenant are fully respected under all circumstances and that Constitutional provisions, in particular articles 4 and 20, are applied in a manner consistent with the provisions of the Covenant.

The Committee recommends that the State party take steps to lift all restrictions on access to university education, including bans on female and male enrolment, limited quotas for women in certain fields, and gender segregation in classrooms and facilities.

The Committee recommends that the State party take steps to address the declining participation of women in the labour force. The Committee recommends that the State party amend the Civil Code and the Family Protection Law with the aim toremove the power of a spouse to prohibit the other spouse from entering employment.The Committee also recommends that the State party take steps to increase the number of women in decision-making and judicial bodies at all levels and in all areas.

The Committee recommends that the State party increase its efforts to combat unemployment through specifically targeted measures, in particular, aimed at women and youth, including by addressing mismatches between education and labour markets through increases in the quality of technical and vocational training and education. The Committee also urges the State party to adopt temporary special measures to address the very high unemployment rates in areas with ethnic minorities, and to include information in its next State party report on the progress achieved.

The Committee recommends that the State party take steps to ensure that ethnic minorities have the opportunity to receive education in their mother tongue, in addition to Farsi.

The Committee recommends that the State party take steps to extend the application of its labour law to all workers, including to those working in places with fewer than five workers and those working in export processing zones.

The Committee recommends that the State party take steps to ensure the full and unrestricted enjoyment by ethnic minorities, including Kurds, Arabs, Azeris and Baluch, to their right to take part in cultural life, including through the protection of publications and newspapers in minority languages from imposed closure. The Committee also recommends that the State party take measures to protect cultural diversity, promote awareness of the cultural heritage of national and ethnic minorities, and ensure favourable conditions for members of those minorities to preserve, develop, express and disseminate their identity, history, culture, language, traditions and customs in line with the Committee's general comment No. 21 (2009) on the right of everyone to take part in cultural life.

The Committee recommends that the State party adopt a comprehensive anti- discrimination bill in compliance with article 2, paragraph 2, of the Covenant and taking into account the Committee's general comment No. 20 (2009) on non-discrimination in economic, social and cultural rights.

The Committee recommends that the State party take steps to establish an independent national human rights institution with a broad human rights mandate, including for economic, social and cultural rights, in line with the Paris Principles, and provide it with adequate human and financial resources.

The Committee recommends that the State party repeal or amend all legislation that results or could result in discrimination, prosecution and punishment of people because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. The Committee recommends that the State party take steps to combat and prevent discrimination and societal stigma against members of the LGBT, and ensure their enjoyment of all the rights enshrined in the Covenant, including unhindered access to employment, social services, health care and education, in line with article 2, paragraph 2, of the Covenant and the Committee's general comment No. 20 (2009) on non-discrimination in economic, social and cultural rights.

The Committee recommends that the State party take steps to ensure that members of the Baha'i community are protected against discrimination and exclusion in every field, including denial of employment and benefits of the pension system. The Committee also recommends that the State party take steps to guarantee, in law and practice, the unhindered access of Baha'i students to universities and vocational training institutions, and to prevent refusals of access and expulsions of students from such institutions based on their belonging to the Baha'i community.

The Committee recommends that the State party ensure full compliance of the gozinesh process with the standards under the Covenant, and thus ensure that employment is not made conditional upon political opinion, previous political affiliation or support, or religious affiliation.

The Committee recommends that the State party take steps to ensure that independent trade unions can be formed and carry out their activities without interference, including unions of teachers, bus workers and sugar-cane workers, as well as the Iran Free Workers' Union. It recommends that the State party ensure that workers can participate in strikes without facing reprisals The Committee also calls upon the State party to immediately release labour rights activists and members of independent trade unions currently serving prison sentences who acted in conformity with internationally recognized trade union standards.

The Committee recommends that the State party take steps to ensure universal access to health insurance, providing for coverage for a minimum essential level of benefits to all individuals and families,including access to health facilities, goods and services on a non-discriminatory basis; provision of essential drugs; access to reproductive, maternal (prenatal as well as post-natal) and child health care; and immunization against the major infectious diseases occurring in the community.

The Committee recommends that the State party take urgent legislative steps to specifically criminalize domestic violence, including marital rape. It also recommends that the State party take steps to ensure that victims of domestic violence have access to effective means of redress and immediate protection, including through a sufficient number of safe houses.

The Committee recommends that the State party take urgent and effective steps to address the very high number of children living and/or working in the street, address the root causes of the phenomenon, and provide all street children with access to health services and education.

The Committee urges that the State party take steps to ensure that people with beliefs other than the religions recognized by the State party can fully enjoy all aspects of economic, social and cultural rights, without any discrimination.

The Committee requests the State party to disseminate the present concluding observations widely among all levels of society, in particular among State officials, the judiciary and civil society organizations, translate and publicize them as far as possible and inform the Committee of the steps taken to implement them in its next periodic report.

The Committee encourages the State party to engage all the relevant actors, including non-governmental organizations and other members of civil society, in the process of discussion of the present concluding observations at the national level and facilitate their participation prior to the submission of its next periodic report.

The Committee requests the State party to submit in a timely manner its third periodic report, prepared in accordance with the revised reporting guidelines of the Committee, adopted in 2008 (E/C.12/2008/2), by 31 May 2018.

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 Committee recommends that the State party take steps to strengthen its national legislation prohibiting child labour in accordance with international standards, in all sectors, including in agriculture, domestic service, and clay/brickmaking. The Committee also recommends that the State party ensure that the implementation of legislation pertaining to child labour is effectively monitored and enforced, including through labour inspections in agriculture and the informal sector, ensuring that employers exploiting child labour are held accountable and that victims of child labour are rehabilitated and are ensured access to education. The Committee recommends that the State party undertake awareness-raising campaigns with a view to eradicating child labour.

The Committee further recommends that the second periodic report of Iran should contain information not only on legislative measures adopted, but also on the application of these measures, on the difficulties encountered in the process of their implementation, and on the issues dealt with in the present concluding observations.

The Committee recommends that the State party take steps to ensure that ownership of houses and land, in particular in rural areas, is formally registered, and that the State party actively raise awareness among affected groups of the population, including through the dissemination of knowledge, on relevant legal provisions and registry procedures. It recommends that the State party take steps to prevent arbitrary interpretations of article 49 of the Constitution, and to ensure that persons affected by such confiscations have access to an adequate remedy, restitution of their property, and compensation, as appropriate, including in line with the Committee's general comment No. 7 (1997) on forced evictions. The Committee also requests the State party to include in its next periodic report information on the extent and the root causes of homelessness in the State party. The Committee draws the State party's attention to its general comment No. 4 (1991) on the right to adequate housing.