“Organizing Child Labor and Street Children” was the title of a regulation that was approved in the government of the time in 2005. The plan, with the overall goal of empowering “child labor” and supporting them, aimed to remove children from the cycle of labor and hardship. In the past fifteen years, it has turned into a failed plan of arresting child laborers on the streets, and the advocates of defending children’s rights and government officials have even failed to respect the sanctity of children in their words. They have repeatedly used the phrase “collecting child laborers” with pride and defended their actions, ignoring the damages that this plan was causing to the physical and mental well-being of child laborers. Now, after fifteen years of repeating the failed plan of “organizing child labor and street children,” welfare officials have spoken about replacing it with a plan called “social support for child laborers,” a plan that has been accompanied by many ambiguities and has doubled the concerns

Operation of tracking and escaping of child labor under the name of organization.

According to the 1984 Child Labor and Street Children Organization Regulations, any individual under the age of 18 who is found on the streets during all hours of the day is considered a “street child.” Institutions, organizations, and executive bodies are obligated to take necessary actions such as identification, recruitment, and acceptance of these children and provide support until they reach a reliable outcome. The regulations emphasize that the identification of child labor and street children should be done by social workers, and the recruitment process should be through effective communication and gaining the trust of the children. In the next step, these children are placed in a capacity-building phase, which will lead to their removal from the cycle of work.

This plan considers the Welfare Organization as the main responsible body for supporting child labor, but it has also assigned duties to eleven government agencies. For example, the police force is responsible for ensuring security in all stages of implementation. Issuing necessary permits and judicial orders is the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice. The

Social support or identification of working children with Anabia scan?!

“After 15 years of implementation and continuous failure, the plan to organize child labor and street children not only did not lead to a decrease in the number of child laborers, but also proved its inefficiency in providing social support for these children. Poverty and economic hardships, which are often associated with child labor, along with the police and security forces’ approach to social issues, have been major reasons for the failure of this plan. However, now the welfare officials, who have always defended this plan, are talking about a new plan called “Social Support for Child Laborers”. It is said that the spread of the coronavirus has caused delays in its implementation, but it will replace the “Organization of Child Labor and Street Children” plan. Nevertheless, the lack of transparency and ambiguities in this plan have once again raised concerns among child rights activists.

In interviews with the media about the implementation process of this plan, the welfare managers have only given general answers about the budget allocated and the expected results.

From work for bread to work for others.

The security and police approach towards social issues, including the phenomenon of child labor, has been one of the main factors in the failure of programs such as organizing and providing social support for working children in Iran. Child labor is a direct result of poverty, and in order to eliminate it, poverty must be addressed. The social welfare system must be strengthened and families should be supported through employment opportunities so that they do not have to send their children to work in order to meet their needs.

A sick economy, exploitation of cheap labor, disregard for workers’ rights, marginalized and disadvantaged members of society, and lack of social support for them create a situation where children are forced into labor. However, Iranian officials have responded to the issue of child labor with violent, oppressive, security and police measures over the years, instead of fighting against a system that exploits the marginalized and children. They have treated working children as criminals who are illegally roaming the streets and society, and now, after years of criticism and protests from