IRAN, ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF: Children's rights in International Labour Organisation reports

Summary: This report summarises individual observations and direct requests issued by the ILO Committee of Experts related to child labour conventions. To view the full reports, go to the NORMLEX database (http://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=1000:1:58438201766571:::::) and click on ‘display all documents related to a specific country’.

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Iran has not ratified the Minimum Age COnvention, 1973 (No. 138)

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CEACR: Direct Request Concerning Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention 1999 (No. 182) Islamic Republic of Iran (ratification: 2002) Submitted: 2010

Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour

Clause (b). Use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, pornography or pornographic performances. 

1.Prostitution

Section 135 of the Law on Islamic Penalties, 1991, prohibits procuring (defined as bringing together two or more persons for the purpose of fornication or sodomy). Furthermore, section 639 of the Islamic Penal Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran punishes anyone who manages a property where activities against public morals (such as prostitution) take place, and also punishes anyone who encourages people to violate public morals. However, as the ILO Committee notes, there appear to be no provisions specifically prohibiting the use or offering of a child under the age of 18 for prostitution, which pursuant to Article 3(b) of the Convention, constitutes one of the worst forms of child labour.

Although section 3 of the Law on Supporting Children and Young Adults states that any kind of sale, purchase, use or employment of a child to conduct an offence is forbidden, it remains unclear whether the term “to conduct offences” in section 3 of the Law on Supporting Children and Young Adults encompasses the use and offering of a child for the purpose of prostitution.

2. Pornography or pornographic performances.

As the Committee notes, section 640 of the Law on Islamic Penalties punishes anyone who publicises or circulates any picture, text, photo, drawing, article, newsletter, newspaper, movie, or any other thing that violates public morals. However, the Law on Islamic Penalties does not explicitly prohibit the use, procuring or offering of a child for the production of pornography or pornographic performances.

Pursuant to Article 3(b) of the Convention, the use, procuring or offering of a person under 18 for use in the production of pornography constitutes one of the worst forms of child labour, and that pursuant to Article 1, the Government must take immediate measures to secure the prohibition of the worst forms of child labour. Consequently, the Committee urges the Government to take immediate measures to explicitly prohibit, in national legislation, the use, procuring or offering of a child for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances, in conformity with Article 3(b) of the Convention.

Clause (c). Use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities.

According to information in a United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report entitled “Crime and Justice Situation in Iran”, due to the situation in Afghanistan and the increase in drug production, children are increasingly being trafficked from Iran to Pakistan and Afghanistan to be used in drug trafficking. Consequently, the Committee urges the Government to take immediate measures to enforce the relevant provisions and ensure that children are not used for the purpose of drug trafficking.

Clause (d). Hazardous work. Children working in the informal sector and self-employed children.

In its concluding observations of 28 June 2000, the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), expressed concern at the large number of children involved in child labour, especially in the informal sector, such as household enterprises and agriculture, many of whom were working in hazardous conditions (CRC/C/15/Add.123, paragraph 51).

Articles 5 and 7(1). Monitoring mechanisms and penalties.

According to government figures, although 38,630 inspections were undertaken, and 15,226 citations issued, related to child labour, only two employers were brought before judicial authorities for their violations. Therefore, as the Committee notes, while several violations of child employment were detected by the labour inspectorate, persons who employ children in breach of the Convention are rarely prosecuted. However, by virtue of Article 7(1) of the Convention, ratifying countries are required to ensure the effective implementation and enforcement of the provisions giving effect to the Convention.

Article 6. Programmes of action.

In spite of some of its shortcomings the Committee notes that the State Welfare Organization (SWO) has formulated a plan of action for working children. As the Government has previously stated, one of the best ways to prevent the worst forms of child labour is to eradicate its root causes, namely poverty and family dissolution, and that addressing poverty and homelessness among children will reduce the chances of children engaging in prostitution, pornography and other worst forms of child labour. In this regard, the Committee notes that the SWO, in implementing the National Action Plan for Children 2009, has provided services through 49 centres for children throughout the country. According to government figures a total of 15,202 children receive coverage from the SWO through houses for children and placements with alternative families.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (a). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. 1. Access to free basic education.

According to Government figures the SWO permitted the education of 10,913 students at various levels of studies. Furthermore, the net enrolment in primary education had steadily increased from 85 per cent in 1990 to 98 per cent in 2005, and that primary school drop-out rates had decreased from 13 per cent to 6.6 per cent in the same period. However, according to the CRC’s concluding observations of 31 March 2005 (CRC/C/15/Add.254, paragraph 59), not all children are enrolled in, or graduate from primary school. Furthermore, there is a significant disparity that exists between boys and girls with regard to education, as girls experience higher drop-rates in rural schools upon reaching puberty - due in part to the long distances between homes and schools, which often keep girls at home.

As the Committee goes on to explain, according to the statistical information provided in the Government’s report, in the 2009–10 school year there was a total of 48,617 secondary classes in the country (17,695 girls’ classes, 20,391 boys’ classes and 10,531 mixed classes). The Committee further notes the information in the Government’s report that the SWO is expanding the provision of pre-school education, in the hope of preparing children for further education and preventing future drop-outs. The Government also indicates that the SWO has opened a series of Centres for Children and Adolescents Intellectual Growth, which provide books, develop the libraries of other institutions and create rural and urban centres for children. The Government operates 668 fixed centres and 57 mobile and urban centres, which count 330,674 girls and 275,674 boys as members.

However, as the Committee notes, according to the information in the 2010 UNESCO Report entitled, Education for All: Global Monitoring Report, in 2007 there remained 319,000 out-of-school children between the ages of six and ten. This report also indicates that while 89 per cent of boys transition from primary to secondary school, only 77 per cent of girls make this same transition.

Part V of the report form. Application of the Convention in practice.

The Committee notes that the number of children involved in the worst forms of child labour is increasing. As the Committee explains according to Government data the number of children involved in the worst forms of child labour increased by 35 per cent from 2004 to 2005. Furthermore, as the CRC states in its concluding observations of 31 March 2005, there is no adequate mechanism for data collection in Iran, which would allow for the systematic and comprehensive collection of data in relation to children (CRC/C/15/Add.254, paragraph 16).

According to the Government’s of Iran, the state’s General Office of Social Affairs, within the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, has undertaken a study into the social causes which force children to work. As the Committee notes, the annual results of the Project of Statistic Collection on the Labour Force submitted with the Government’s report, indicate that there were approximately 153,472 working children between the ages of 10–14 in 2008, and approximately 531,537 children between the ages of 15–19 working in specific activities. This information indicates that the number of working children is declining (a decline of 174,659 children aged 10–14, and a decline of 178,361 children between the ages of 15–19 working in specific sectors between 2005–08). Nonetheless, as the Committee observes, this data is not disaggregated to indicate how many of these children are engaged in the worst forms of child labour. Therefore, the Committee has requested the Government to take measures, including through the initiative of the General Office of Social Affairs, to ensure that sufficient data on the worst forms of child labour is made available. To the extent possible, such data should indicate the age and sex of children, as well as the nature, extent and trends of the worst forms of child labour.

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