Children With No Identity
Iran

Since the beginning of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the war in December 1979, and also due to three decades of intense civil war, insecurity and poor economic conditions, a larger number of Afghans immigrated to neighbouring countries such as Iran.

Almost three million Afghans entered Iran gradually, with the main reason being to get married to Iranian women so as to receive legal residency and to be able to consolidate their situation. These illegal marriages resulted in hundreds of thousands of children being born withou birth certificates and identity in Iran. According to Iranian law, these children are considered foreigners unless they apply for citizenship when they turn 18 years of age. Lacking birth certificates, these children cannot enter the education system, and are also without legal rights, civil rights, health rights, and security. In some cases, they have resulted in an increase of social anomalies. Furthermore, many of these children’s fathers live in Afghanistan with no commitment to their children. Apart from lobbying legislators, NGOs are trying also to provide education, health and protection for these children.