Seyed Javad Hosseini, head of Iran’s Welfare Organization, announced that among the 4,400 child laborers identified in the organization’s programs, more than 86% are foreign nationals, particularly migrants from Afghanistan.
Hosseini made these remarks in an interview with Iranian state television, stating that child laborers are active both on the streets and in workshops, and that both forms of child labor are considered illegal.
In Iran’s official discourse, the term “foreign nationals” typically refers to Afghan migrants.
It is worth noting that Iran is a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which prohibits child labor. However, children’s rights activists say that domestic laws and economic conditions have allowed this phenomenon to remain widespread.
Migrant children are mostly engaged in garbage collection. Some of them are orphans, while others come from low-income families.
Limited access to education for migrant children is also seen as a factor contributing to their involvement in child labor.
Although there are no exact figures available on the number of Afghan child laborers in Iran, a former member of Tehran’s City Council once stated that there are around 70,000 child laborers in the capital alone, 80% of whom are Afghan.
The sharp increase in the return of Afghan migrants from Iran—occurring alongside intensified forced deportations from Pakistan—has created serious challenges for Afghanistan.
Nevertheless, the current Afghan administration is cooperating with Iran on the deportation and repatriation of Afghan migrants.
