The Fight Against Human Trafficking: What are Iran’s International Obligations?

Iran was one of the earliest supporters of the global fight against human trafficking. Leaders of the country have signed many international treaties and adopted some of the relevant international doctrines into its national laws.

Iran’s anti-trafficking efforts date back to the early years of Reza Shah, the first King of the Pahlavi royal family, who ruled from 1925 until 1941. Iran signed and ratified international conventions against human trafficking, and the administration at the time was in charge of bringing these conventions into practice, in particular during the prime ministership of Mehdi Gholi Hedayat (1927-1933). The parliament — called the National Consultative Assembly — and the Senate, which was established in 1928 but only in place between 1949 and 1979 during the reign of Mohammad Reza Shah, further strengthened the convention in Iranian law. 

Since the Islamic revolution of 1979, the administration of Mohammad Khatami (1997-2005) has been the most pro-active on the issue of human trafficking. However, various Islamic laws and criterion that were implemented after the revolution are often contrary and in direct opposition to the international doctrine — and these laws are always considered superior and take precedence over other laws within Iran’s judicial system. Thus, Iran’s fight against human trafficking suffers from several loopholes.

The most significant international agreements and treaties to which Iran is a signatory, and which bind Iran to international obligations are outlined below.

Before the 1979 revolution:

International Agreement for the Suppression of the White Slave Traffic

In 1928, during the early years of Reza Shah, Iran’s parliament ratified the International Agreement for the Suppression of the White Slave Traffic. The purpose of this agreement was for the member parties to design and take preventive measures to stop the slave trade of women and children within their national legal systems.

As a result of Iran’s commitment to the convention, Iran’s parliament drafted and ratified the law that banned the slave trade in Iran, and emancipated slaves as soon as they set foot on Iranian soil.

Although the participant countries in the International Agreement for the Suppression of the White Slave Traffic were not able to agree on a comprehensive definition of human trafficking, 24 years later, Iran’s laws reflected a primal and basic definition of human trafficking: “In Iran no one can be labeled as a slave and people labeled as such, as soon as [they] set foot on Iranian soil [are] considered free human beings. Anyone who participates in the slave trade or claims any other form of ownership [of] another human being shall face one to three years’ imprisonment.”

As time passed, the definition of human trafficking took shape in greater detail. Some articles of the Common Criminal Law, which was the land’s law before the revolution, states: “Kidnapping or hiding of children under the age of 15 for sexual exploitation or marriage is a crime and, therefore, punishable by law.” Compared to the laws after the revolution, the aforementioned articles were very progressive — progressive enough to dismiss the victim’s consent under certain circumstances. In other words, if the victim consented, this would not be taken into account because it was assumed the victim was in a weak, vulnerable position and had been under the control of whoever was exploiting that individual.

 

The Convention to Suppress Slave Trade and Slavery

Iran’s government signed the Convention to Suppress Slave Trade and Slavery, and the parliament and the Senate ratified the convention shortly after. The member nations of the first convention in Paris were not satisfied with the convention's definition of human trafficking of women, and this resulted in a second convention. It was designed specifically to fight against the sexual exploitation of Caucasian women and stop the female sex slave trade.

The convention considers the slave trade of Caucasian women, even with their consent, as an international crime, yet ignores women who were kept involuntarily in brothels all around the world. With the outbreak of World War I, this convention ended up abandoned in a forgotten and dusty corner.

The International Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic of Women and Children

Iran also signed the International Convention for the Suppression of Traffic of Women and Children, and parliament and the Senate of the time ratified the convention.

This agreement drops the “Caucasian” condition for women and children and, for the first time, recognizes a universal protection for all women. But the agreement provided no enforcing measures on how to fight against the slave trade of women and children. This makes it almost impossible to prevent such activities within Western colonies, and particularly British colonies.

Iran, on the other hand, was one of the success stories when it came to enforcing the agreement. Iran, as an independent and sovereign country, had no problem enforcing the International Convention for the Suppression of Traffic in Women of Full Age. In fact, many years ahead of this agreement, Iran had already introduced the “Ban on Slave Trade in Iran and emancipation of slaves as soon as [they] set foot on Iranian soil,” which would punish such criminals with to up to three years' imprisonment.

The Agreement on Slavery and Involuntary Servitude – The Slavery Convention

Iran’s administration, and both the Senate and Congress, signed and ratified the 1926 Slavery Convention or the Convention to Suppress the Slave Trade and Slavery, which was the last international attempt to abolish slavery. This agreement asked signatory countries, including colonialists, to ratify internal laws with the aim of abolishing the slave trade. Iran had already put such laws in place. This agreement also obligated the member nations to prevent any involuntary servitude, unless defined by law as a part of criminal punishment.

The International Convention for the Suppression of Traffic in Women of Full Age

The administration of Mohammad-Ali Foroughi (1941-1942) signed and ratified the International Convention for the Suppression of Traffic in Women of Full Age in Iran. This convention deemed any forms of sexual exploitation as an international crime, and asked for cooperation among signatory members.

The International Convention for the Suppression of Traffic in Women of Full Age, unlike the previous treaties, does not ignore any aspect of sexual exploitation and provides support for all women anywhere in the world. The outbreak of World War II in 1939, six years after this convention was ratified, delayed its enforcement.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

One of the most important international documents of our era, which was enacted after World War II, is the historic document the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It was adopted by the newly-formed United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948 in Paris.

On behalf of Iran’s shah, the head of the Iranian committee voted to sign up to the declaration. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognized, for the first time in modern history, universal human rights for all human beings around the world.

The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is not considered an international treaty since it lacks any enforcement measures and addresses no obligations from the signatory nations. Therefore, countries asked for two additional international covenants. One was for the sake of the Eastern Bloc, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the second was for the Western Bloc, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. These two agreements are considered to be the most fundamental and crucial international documents for human rights. In fact, the two covenants act as enforcement measures for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and obligate the member nations, including Iran, to take specific actions.

Iran signed and ratified both covenants prior to the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and has committed to enforce the requirements of such treaties, including respect for human rights, fighting against human trafficking, and any other activities that are in violation of the covenants.

 

After the 1979 Islamic Revolution:

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child

One of the main reasons children under the age of 18 are relocated is for marriage.

In 1994, during the presidency of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Iran signed the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the Islamic parliament ratified the convention shortly after. However, the convention is only valid when it does not contradict Islamic law and, thus, Iran has singled out some articles of the convention as not being applicable to Iran. One of the most important of these articles is with respect to the marriage of underage children — which can lead to children becoming victims of human trafficking.

Up until the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the minimum legal age for child marriage was 15 for both boys and girls. Three years after the revolution, the Islamic parliament began to reform the old civic law in an attempt to adopt Islamic law for every aspect of life. The Guardian Council, which is a superior power over parliament, found the minimum age for marriage to be in contravention of Islamic criterion and thus ruled it out. In the first Islamic civic law after this ruling, the determination of a child’s age for marriage had been completely handed over to their parents.

In 2000, reformist representatives to the parliament voted to bring back the minimum age for marriage, but they faced opposition from the Guardian Council. Therefore, the final ruling on the issue, according to Iran’s constitution, was sent to the Expediency Discernment Council.

Two years later, the Expediency Discernment Council backed the parliament, and the minimum age came back to the civic law books. However, the set minimum age still goes against the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Iran is a signatory member.

According to the 2002 law, the minimum age for marriage in Iran is 15 for boys and 13 for girls. Furthermore, the legislator also allows the marriage of younger children with the consent of a parent and the approval of a court.

Hassan Rouhani’s administration has been loud in its criticism of the law that allows the marriage of nine-year-old girls. But, in practice, nothing has been changed, and the law is still in place.

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women

Iran joined the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) during the presidency of Mohammad Khatami, seven years after its formation. But the National Consultative Assembly (the parliament) has yet to ratify the convention. CEDAW recognizes the human trafficking of women as a form of discrimination and asks the signatory countries to fight against it. 

The Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution, which is an assembly consisting of Supreme Leader appointees (with the president as the head of the council, who has a single vote), is opposed to the idea that Iran should ratify the convention and deems it as going against Islamic law.

This opposition struggles with the equality clauses in the convention, which will be enforced by the member nations if ratified. They believe that such equality is in contravention of Islamic law. Some of the differences in Iran’s laws include, but are not limited to: the difference between a man and a woman in their testimony in the court of law; the difference in inheritance between sons and daughters; the blood money (wergild) of a woman — which is half of that of a man; and the discrimination against woman when it comes to their criminal liability.

Iranian officials, even when there is no clear discrimination against women in the law, interpret the laws in a discriminatory way and deny women’s rights. Two of the most notable examples of such interpretations are the ban on women registering as candidates in the presidential elections and the government intervention on how women should dress, as well as the invasion of their privacy.

Currently, since Iran has not ratified the convention, is not obligated to enforce it. However, because it has signed the original document, it cannot take any further actions in opposition to the convention requirements.

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention

In 2001, Mohammad Khatami’s administration signed the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, in addition to it its supplementary protocol, two years after the formation of the convention. Shortly after, the Islamic Consultative Assembly ratified the convention bill and made it the law of the land.

According to the convention, signatory countries must take effective and immediate actions to prevent and eliminate the worst forms of child labor. The convention again recognizes the age of 18 as the measure distinguishing children from adults.   

The worst forms of child labor, according to the convention, are hard labor by force or coercion, employment and use of children in armed conflicts and combat zones, drug trade, slavery or involuntary servitude, sexual exploitation, and any other examples of violating or endangering a child’s health, safety or serenity.

Member nations are obligated to provide their children with free basic education. Currently, the rising number of child labor and street children in Iran is clearly in violation of the convention. Those children often become involved in the smuggling of drugs, turn into street beggars, or are employed in some of the most difficult types of labor, such as construction work.

The Statute of the International Criminal Court

The Statute of the International Criminal Court recognizes slavery and organized human trafficking as a crime against humanity. This court, which sits at the Hague in the Netherlands, is the first and only permanent international court. Iran has signed the statute of the court, but no effort has been made to ratify the statute in parliament.

The Supplementary Protocols of the Palermo Convention

One of the most recent international documents, which Iran is yet to officially ratify, is the Supplementary Protocol to the Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. This document aims to prevent and eliminate human trafficking, especially of women and children, and punish the criminals. It is also known as the Palermo Convention.

Iran signed the protocol during the presidency of Mohammad Khatami, but the ratification process took another 13 years, and only came into force during the presidency of Hassan Rouhani, which began in 2013.

The bill to ratify the protocol was sent to the Islamic (or National) Consultative Assembly during Rouhani’s first term, but the representatives in the ninth assembly were not fond of the protocol and avoided voting on it. Four years later, and 17 years after signing the original document, Rouhani’s administration sent the bill to parliament once again, and was able to ratify the bill in the house. The ratified bill is currently waiting for the Guardian Council’s approval to become a law of the land.