- Fact Sheet
- Sources Consulted
Iran: Fact Sheet
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Iran's ban on media has made it difficult for international organizations to determine the country's true link to child soldiers
- Population: 68.1 million
- Government armed forces: 540,000 (rough estimate)
- Child soldiers: 500 (rough estimate)
- The government declared in 1998 that “according to article 2 of the Public Conscription Act, every Iranian citizen is eligible for military service as of 21 March of the year he reaches 19”, and that “the minimum employment age for the armed forces for the purpose of receiving military training is 16 and the minimum age for employment for the Police Forces is 17.” Girls are excused from military service altogether. The governmental National Youth Organization said in 2004 that 16 was the minimum age to be employed by the army.
- The Iranian government forces and official paramilitary groups, the Basij, recruited 15 year olds. The Mujahedeen Khalq Organization (MKO) and Kurdish armed hostility groups were suspected to have children in their lines.
- Factions: The Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI), Mujahedeen Khalq Organization (MKO), Basij (Iranian armed forces and official paramilitary groups), Iranian Armed Forces and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (Pasdaran)
- A part of Iran was reported to have recruited disaffected or expelled youth from schools, workplaces and villages. Although membership is voluntary, villagers in eastern Iran were compulsorily recruited because of a deficiency of members
- Children were said to be among MKO members in the Ashraf encampment, including 17-year-old Majid Amini who “was recruited to join the MKO in Tehran with promises of completing two school grades in one year and gaining a place in college”, according to his parents.
- There is no active aid due to a media ban