Does the law have no responsibility for non-Iranian child laborers?

Officials in Iran have repeatedly stated that a significant portion of working and street children, especially in Tehran, are foreigners or, as is common in Iranian government literature, “foreign nationals.” According to the Deputy Minister of Interior, two-thirds of children in Iran are foreign nationals.

But what does this statistic explain, assuming it is true? Does the nationality of a child who is deprived of his childhood and basic rights as a human being on the streets of our city matter?

If this child is not Iranian, is it okay for him to work on the unsafe streets of the city? Does the fact that the child is non-Iranian negate the government's duties and responsibilities towards them?

Hamed Farmand, a children's rights activist, said in an interview with Radio Farda's Community Magazine: "The Convention on the Rights of the Child has a very important principle, and that is that a child is a child first. This means that all the conditions that a child experiences, whether it's being a migrant, an asylum seeker, or being without identity documents or even possibly committing a crime on his part and being in conflict with the law, all come after this."
"Every child is vulnerable simply because they are children and have the right to be protected, to enjoy their well-being and to enjoy all the legal rights enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the rights that countries must also have in their laws. Furthermore, every citizen has a serious responsibility towards these children."

Mr. Farmand believes that the emphasis on the non-Iranian nationality of some child laborers in Iran is the product of the government's efforts to alienate members of society: "Unfortunately, the government's alienating perspective has taken its toll, and some of the government's laws, literature, and behaviors are based on and reinforce this perspective. Fortunately, the new law has a more general and comprehensive perspective on children, and we can expect and hope that this law will also have an educational aspect."

At the same time, Moein Khazaeli, a lawyer, referring to the new law on the protection of children and adolescents' rights, which was finally approved in June last year after a decade of back and forth between the parliament and the Guardian Council, speaks about the legal duties of officials towards child laborers and foreign child laborers: "In the new law, the new law on the protection of children and adolescents' rights, in Article 3, where the legislator defines a precarious situation, it states very clearly that in fact any harmful situation resulting from extreme poverty, displacement, immigration, or statelessness is considered a precarious situation.
This law also covers all individuals up to the age of 18. This means that if a child or adolescent is placed in this risky situation, the responsible organizations, namely the judiciary and welfare, are obligated to intervene immediately to protect the legal rights of the child or adolescent.

Mr. Khazaeli is referring to Article 3, Section “R” of the new law on the protection of children and adolescents, which specifically addresses the situation of refugee, migrant, or stateless children living in Iran. The law, of course, has not yet been implemented, but there are still ways to pursue the rights of child laborers, including non-Iranian child laborers, by citing this law.

Moin Khazaeli says: "The only way to hope for this law to be implemented as soon as possible is to put pressure on the government. One way to put pressure on the government is for members of parliament to pressure the government to approve the executive regulations as soon as possible and send them for implementation, and another way is the Administrative Court of Justice, which can force organizations to implement them."
"We also have in this law that if government and governmental organizations refuse to implement this law, they will be held responsible. That is, the same welfare department that talks about child labor not being Iranian and disclaims responsibility for them, this can later be used against them in the Administrative Court of Justice. Because they are preventing the implementation of a law that has been approved and must be implemented."

I ask him whether the officials are unaware of the new law that places new responsibilities on them regarding child laborers, including non-Iranian child laborers?

He responds: "Given that this law has not yet been implemented and the minds of the Islamic Republic's officials are still preoccupied with this law, and they think that they can easily evade their duties with this excuse, they are using these excuses."
"According to the law, being in these conditions, that is, being a refugee, migrant, and stateless, is basically one of the requirements for immediate intervention. That is, not only begging or working by a child who is stateless or migrant, but also being in this stateless situation if it leads to harm or victimization, requires immediate intervention. Now, the issue of working creates this obligation and compulsion in a doubly significant way."

What role can we, as citizens, play in this? Hamed Farmand, a children's rights activist, says of citizenship's responsibility towards vulnerable children in society: "A child who is placed in the position of child labor due to economic and social inequalities is in a more vulnerable position and has a greater right to enjoy the support of all citizens. On the other hand, a child laborer who is also a migrant is in a more difficult position and needs more support."
"Regardless of the laws, we, citizens with the privilege of being first-class citizens, have this duty and responsibility towards children who do not have this privilege."

If you see a child who is a foreign national and needs social and legal support, you can contact the responsible institutions: the Welfare Organization, the Judiciary, members of parliament, and even the Administrative Court of Justice.

Government organizations that are recognized in the text of the Law on the Protection of Children and Adolescents as the main authorities responsible for addressing the situation of child laborers are obligated to listen to your report, follow up on the situation of child laborers, and address the problems of these children, regardless of their nationality or citizenship.

The refusal of responsible institutions to fulfill this legal duty entails legal liability for them and can even be reviewed by authorities such as the Administrative Court of Justice.

Lawyer Moin Khazaeli, emphasizing the new law on the role and responsibility of our citizenship, says: "The same law states that if a child is in a dangerous situation or imminent danger and someone is aware of these conditions and does not report it to the responsible organizations and institutions, namely the judiciary and the welfare organization, then this act itself is a crime."

A child who is forced to seek asylum and live stateless at a young age due to the precarious conditions of his family or country has the right, like all children, to benefit from all social and legal support to improve his conditions.

Whether children are Iranian or non-Iranian is not what determines the duties and responsibilities of citizens, civil society, and governments towards them. What places this responsibility on all of us, based on the Convention on the Rights of the Child, is childhood, not citizenship.

Source: Radio Farda