Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2023, published 112nd ILC session (2024)

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Iran (Islamic Republic of) (Ratification: 2002)

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Articles 3(d) and 5 of the Convention. Hazardous work and labour inspection. Children working in the informal sector and self-employed children. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s information, in its report, that, in 2021, the Labour Inspection Directorate carried out 19,126 child labour-specific inspections, which resulted in the identification of 143 children involved in child labour (137 boys and 6 girls). The Government also indicates that 136 offending employers were referred to the judicial authorities, 80 employers were penalized pursuant to section 176 of the Labour Code (which provides for penalties for, inter alia, engaging young persons in hazardous work), and 23 work permits of offending employers were cancelled. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the number and nature of violations detected with regard to young persons under 18 years of age, in particular with regard to children engaged in hazardous work, and the penalties imposed after the cases were referred to the judicial authorities. To the extent possible, this information should be disaggregated by age, gender, and sector of activity.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (a). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. Access to free basic education. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s information that, in response to the knowledge received on the number of children who dropped out of school (in 2017, 134,000 children aged 9 to 11 dropped out of school; in 2018, 96,000 children aged 6 to 11 dropped out of primary school), it launched the MASHGH website for these children to identify themselves and developed social protection plans to address the educational barriers. Support given to these children include conditional financial support to the families, counselling services, food support and school enrolment assistance. The Committee further notes, from the UNICEF website, that while the primary school net enrolment rate is 95 per cent, girls, children with special needs and children living in border and disadvantaged areas require extra help to access and remain in primary school. To that end, UNICEF is working with the Government and other partners to equip the Ministry of Education with technical expertise to improve access to formal education for all children in Iran, and support the Ministry to enhance quality of education in boarding schools in disadvantaged provinces. The Committee encourages the Government to pursue its efforts to facilitate access to free basic education to all children and ensure that children remain in school. It requests the Government to continue providing information on the measures taken in this regard, and on the results achieved, particularly with regard to increasing the enrolment rates of children at the primary and lower secondary levels and reducing school drop-out rates.

Clause (d). Identifying and reaching out to children at special risk. Children in street situations. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that the issue of children working and living in the streets is seen as one of the five main priorities at the national level, and that it is caused by inappropriate economic, social and cultural conditions, including poverty, unemployment, migration from villages and small towns, natural and man-made disasters, the emergence of informal settlements, and the incoming of unauthorized foreign nationals. The Government further indicates that the results of investigations and identification of children in street situations reveal that 85 per cent of them are illegal foreigners. In this regard, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that policies and special programmes for the identification and social support of children working and living in the streets in the country continue to be implemented, in particular by the State Welfare Organization. This organization covers children working and living in the streets, including foreign nationals, and has placed children in day care centres which provide specialized services. The services provided by the Welfare Organization include educational services, counselling, literacy training and subsistence allowances, or contributions in kind (food, support packages) for children who do not have a legal residence permit. The Committee also notes that the Welfare Organization has developed an Action Plan on social protection for street children, the implementation of which began in 2021. Finally, the Committee also notes the Government’s information that the Law on Protection of Children and Adolescents, 2020, provides that children who are exposed to offences or at risk of physical injury, mental, social or moral damage, or damage to their security or education, are considered to be in a dangerous situation that triggers intervention and legal protection (Articles 3(t)and 5). The Committee requests the Government to pursue its efforts to protect children in street situations from the worst forms of child labour and to provide for their rehabilitation and social integration. In this regard, it requests the Government to provide information on the number children in the streets who have been withdrawn and rehabilitated through the Government’s various initiatives, including the action of the State Welfare Organization, the measures implemented in the framework of the Action Plan on social protection for street children, and the implementation of the intervention and protection measures provided for in the Law on Protection of Children and Adolescents, 2020.

Application of the Convention in practice.The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the nature, extent and trends of the worst forms of child labour, disaggregated by age and gender, and on the number of children covered by the measures giving effect to the Convention.