Periodic Report of the Islamic Republic of Iran on the International
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[As received on 3/11/2009] Second Periodic Report of the Islamic Republic of Iran on the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Introduction 1. Islamic Republic of Iran is a state party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Iran acceded to this Covenant in 1975. The provisions of the Covenant have been enshrined in different articles of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Besides, one of the major goals of the system of the Islamic Republic of Iran since its inception has been to improve the living standards of the people of the country. 1.1. Since the triumph of the Islamic Revolution in Iran in February 1979, several institutions were established to help improve the living standards of the people of Iran particularly in the remote and deprived areas of the country. Of such institutions mention can be made of Imam Khomeini Relief Committee, Islamic Revolution Housing Foundation, the Center for Deprived Regions of the Presidential Office, Construction Jihad (which was later merged with the Ministry of Agriculture), Literacy Movement and Islamic Revolution Janbazan and Mostazafan Foundation, which were created to alleviate poverty and improve living conditions particularly in the disadvantaged areas of the country. 1.2. Among the duties of the said institutions to ensure better living conditions for the disadvantaged sections of the society mention can be made of the provision of sufficient and appropriate housing, literacy facilities, support for family unit and job opportunities for rural people and also contribute to rural development. Establishment of the national committee 2. To prepare the country report of the Islamic Republic of Iran on the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the National Committee for Drafting the Country Report was established in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the participation of the representatives of the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Ministry of Science, Research and Technology, Ministry of Agricultural Jihad, Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Cooperatives, Islamic Human Rights Commission, Imam Khomeini Relief Committee, Literacy Movement, Social Security Organization, State Welfare Organization, the Center for Family and Women's Affairs of the Presidential Office, the Judiciary, the Parliament, the State Statistics Center, the Directorate for Strategic Planning and Supervision of the Presidential Office (former State Management and Planning Organization), Islamic Revolution Housing Foundation, the Center for Deprived Regions of the Presidential Office, Maskan (Housing) Bank. 2 2.1. The sessions of this committee were also attended by some university professors and human rights activities. This committee held a number of sessions in which the representatives of the participating ministries and institutions presented the reports of the activities of their organizations in the related fields, which were then discussed in length on the floor. Preparation of the national country report on the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 3. To prepare the country report on the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Reports, the UN guidelines have been used. Therefore, following the UN model, each section of the report is allocated to a specific article of the Covenant. Each section begins with a short introduction, explaining the contents of the section coupled with the related articles of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran as well as the rules and regulations provided in the 3rd development Plan of the country with regard to each article or subject matter. Then, the activities undertaken and carried out by each ministry or local organization for the materialization of the provisions of the related articles are presented. 3.1. The present report which contains the activities and measures conducted to materialize the rights enshrined in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural rights mostly relates to the past decade particularly the last five years. 3.2. What is specially important about the said years is that, during this period, the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran not only continued the previous plans for the reconstruction of the ravages of the 8-year imposed war but it also executed the projected programs for the socio-economic and cultural development envisaged in the 4th 5-year Economic, Social and Cultural Development of the country. Besides, during the said period, Iran's Twenty-Year Vision for 2025 was drafted and passed and served on the Government for implementation. 3.3. Also, to this should be added the reconstruction of and the compensation made for the damages resulting from natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods which occurred during the same period and absorbed a considerable amount of the national budget. 3.4. The rapid population growth in the first decade of the Islamic Revolution has led to an increase in the share of the youth in the population pyramid of the country. This population explosion compelled the Government to allocate huge amounts of the national capital to meet the basic needs of the society. 3.5. It is worth mentioning that, only in one decade, the population of the country increased from 61 million in 1996 to over 70 million in 2006. As for the gender structure of the population, it should be noted that the numbers of 3 males and females are very akin by a narrow margin (males 36 million and females 34.5 million). 3.1. In 2006, a total of 88.74% of the population above the age of 6 were literate. 3.2. The active population of the country which was about 16 million in 1996 increased to 25 million in 2006. 3.3. In 2006, 88.18% of the active population above the age of 10 was employed. These figures demonstrate a growth in the number of the labor force entering the national economy. 3.4. Though the development of the secondary and tertiary education as well as technical and vocational training has slowed the pace of the entry of the labor force into the labor market, the annual entry of 800000 people into the labor market can well demonstrate the pressure that the national economy is experiencing to generate jobs and absorb this huge number of new job applicants. Economic, social and cultural rights in the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran 4. The nature and also duties of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran with regard to the rights of the people which fall in the category of the economic, social and cultural rights have been stipulated in the 3rd chapter of the constitution recognized as the "rights of people." Of such rights mention can be made of the right to work (Article 28), support for mothers and protection of family (Article 21), the right to social security (Article 29), the right to free education up to the completion of the secondary education (Article 30) and the right to appropriate housing (Article 31). 4.1. Besides, Article 43 (chapter 4 on economic and financial affairs) refers to the satisfaction of such basic needs as housing, food, clothing, sanitation, health, education, formation of family and also "the use of science and technology as well as the training of sufficient skilled manpower to meet the needs for the economic development of the country" which can be seen in the category of economic, social and cultural rights. All the aforementioned articles clearly underline the duties of the Government to satisfy the needs and provide the necessary support for each and all citizens of the country. The rules and regulations provided in national development plans 5. In the 1990s, three national economic, social and cultural development plans were approved by the parliament of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which was carried out in the course of the said decade. The first, second and third development plans were executed respectively during 1989-1993, 1995-1999 and 1999-2004. The 4 execution of the fourth national development of the country started in 2005 which has continued up to this date. 5.1. The economic, social and cultural development plans of the country have been drafted and executed in view of the past experience and the realities and potentials existing in the economic, social and cultural sectors of the country with an aim to develop the country and improve the living conditions and standards of the citizens. 5.2. The 3rd economic, social and cultural development of the country is a set of rules and regulations drafted in 26 chapters for different sectors of the economy and different sections of the society which have provided the legal framework for the administration of the state as well as the required platform for planning and execution of strategic policies in economic, social and cultural sectors. 5.3. The 3rd national development plan contains the policies as well as the rules and regulations required to improve the living standards of people. Some of these rules and regulations relate to housing, education, culture and arts, physical education, judicial affairs, health and medical treatment as well as urban and rural development. The achievements of the 4th development plan (2005-2009) 6. The execution of the development plans brought about substantial changes in the country. The 4th economic, social and cultural development plan contains a set of rules and regulations drafted in seven sections, fifteen chapters and 275 articles for different sectors. This plan which constitutes the pillars of the development vision envisaged for a modern Iran seeks to lay down and consolidate the required grounds for the development, management and integration of the different sectors of the economy within the overall context of the Iranian society.