E/CN.4/2005/85/Add.2 page 6 Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (14 August 1956); the 1973 Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid (17 April 1985) and the Worst Forms of Child Labour, 1999 (Convention No. 182) (May 2002) of the International Labour Organization (ILO). 7. Iran has not ratified the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. II. DISCUSSION WITH IRANIAN OFFICIALS 8. The Special Rapporteur met with a number of Iranian officials within different ministries in charge of the issue of migrants in the country. The Director-General of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs informed the Special Rapporteur that his country had signed the following ILO Conventions related to the issue of migrant workers: the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111), the Migration for Employment Convention (Revised), 1949 (No. 97) and the Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions) Convention, 1975 (No. 143), and that the Iranian legislation is based on these conventions. The Director-General also referred to Iranian legislation, particularly the “Labour Law of the Islamic Republic of Iran”, Division III related to “Employment of foreign citizens”, sections 120-123 of which deal with the situation of foreign workers in Iran. He informed the Special Rapporteur that employment opportunities in Iran were rather limited and that there were also a limited number of foreign workers in the country. He stated that the majority of migrants in Iran were “refugees” who enjoyed little assistance from UNHCR but were taken care of by the Iranian authorities. 9. He updated the Special Rapporteur on the various steps taken by the Ministry of Labour to address the issue of Afghans with a work permit present in the country and informed her about initiatives aimed at increasing job skills through the establishment of vocational training centres. In 2004 a memorandum of understanding had been signed with ILO and IOM for technical cooperation which addressed the issue of assistance to foreigners in Iran as well as the situation of Iranians outside the country. He noted that Iranian authorities facilitated the issuance of working permits to Afghans and that they enjoyed full protection under the Iranian labour law, together with their relatives, including access to health and education facilities. Finally, with regard to Iranians living outside the country, the director referred to a number of bilateral agreements with receiving countries (Australia/Japan, the United Arab Emirates and the Republic of Korea). 10. The Special Rapporteur held several meetings with representatives from different departments of the Ministry of the Interior. The Director-General of the International Affairs Division told the Special Rapporteur that his department was in charge of security issues as well as social affairs, the economy of the Iranian provinces and the situation of foreigners living in Iran. With regard to the particular situation of Afghans, all of them possessed an ID card; he referred to the collaboration with UNHCR and the repatriation programme put in place by the Iranian authorities and UNHCR. He recalled that just over 200,000 Afghan students were enrolled in educational institutions, 4,000 of whom were in higher education. A special Decision

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