Observed annually on 30 July, the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons draws attention to one of the gravest forms of organised crime and human rights abuse. Trafficking deprives women, men and children of their freedom and dignity and may expose them to sexual exploitation, forced labour, forced begging, slavery-like practices, forced marriage and other forms of abuse.
The Palermo Protocol—formally the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children—defines trafficking as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons through force, coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power or abuse of a position of vulnerability for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation includes sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude and the removal of organs. Where children are concerned, proof of force, coercion or deception is not required; recruitment or transfer for the purpose of exploitation may itself constitute trafficking.
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2024, detected trafficking victims worldwide increased by approximately 25 per cent in 2022 compared with 2019. Children accounted for 38 per cent of identified victims, while women and girls represented 61 per cent. Detected cases of trafficking for forced labour also rose sharply, reflecting the effects of poverty, conflict, displacement and economic instability on vulnerable populations.
In Iran, the true scale of trafficking remains difficult to assess because of limited official transparency and the absence of comprehensive public data. Nevertheless, international reports, domestic publications and human rights documentation indicate persistent patterns of exploitation affecting women, children and migrants. Poverty, gender discrimination, child labour, irregular migration and weak victim-protection mechanisms all heighten vulnerability to trafficking and related abuses.
Women and Girls: Trafficking, Exploitation and Structural Vulnerability
Women and girls remain among the groups most exposed to trafficking and exploitation in Iran, particularly in economically deprived and border regions. Trafficking often begins with deception rather than visible force. Victims may be approached through false promises of employment, education, marriage, modelling, migration or a better life abroad. After transfer, they may face confiscation of identity documents, restrictions on movement, debt bondage, intimidation, violence and sexual or labour exploitation.
Published research has identified Sistan and Baluchestan, Hormozgan and Khuzestan among provinces where poverty, geography and cross-border criminal networks may increase the risk of trafficking. A 2018 report by the Women’s Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, drawing on domestic and international documentation, described recurrent methods including sham marriages, fraudulent recruitment and the transfer of women from deprived areas under false promises of work or migration. It also reported allegations of document confiscation, confinement and deliberate debt accumulation as methods of control. Individual cases require independent verification, but the patterns described correspond to internationally recognised indicators of trafficking.
Legal experts and human rights researchers have also linked vulnerability to unemployment, domestic violence, gender discrimination and inadequate social protection. Women heading households, divorced women, girls fleeing abuse and women without family or institutional support are particularly susceptible to deceptive recruitment.
The 2024 U.S. Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report classified Iran as Tier 3, the lowest ranking. It concluded that the authorities did not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and were not making significant efforts to do so. The report identified Iranian and foreign women and girls, migrants, men and LGBTQI+ persons among those vulnerable to sex trafficking and forced labour, while highlighting failures in victim identification, protection and accountability for officials allegedly complicit in trafficking-related offences.
The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Professor Javaid Rehman, also documented concerns regarding the vulnerability of Iranian women and girls to trafficking and sexual exploitation. According to his findings, organised networks allegedly used deceptive offers of employment and education, including recruitment through social media, to lure women and girls abroad for sexual exploitation. These findings show how gender discrimination and economic hardship intersect with trafficking-related abuses.
Irregular migration must not be conflated with trafficking. In adult cases, trafficking requires exploitation together with coercion, deception, abuse of power or abuse of vulnerability. Preserving this distinction is essential so that victims are identified and protected rather than treated solely as immigration offenders or criminal suspects.
Children: Labour, Forced Begging and Illegal Sale
Children are especially vulnerable to trafficking because poverty, family breakdown, parental substance abuse, school dropout, statelessness, irregular migration and weak social protection can leave them without effective safeguards. Although comprehensive national data on child trafficking in Iran are unavailable, domestic reports and international assessments point to exploitation in both formal and informal sectors.
Child labour is one of the most visible manifestations of this vulnerability. Children work in waste collection, street vending, brick kilns, workshops, agriculture and other hazardous occupations. Child labour does not automatically amount to trafficking; however, where children are controlled by intermediaries or organised groups, subjected to coercion or debt bondage, or exploited through abuse of their vulnerability, the conduct may constitute forced labour or trafficking.
Reports have raised particular concern about children engaged in waste collection and organised street activities. Many come from impoverished Iranian families or undocumented Afghan households and work in dangerous and degrading conditions through informal labour networks. Such environments expose them to occupational hazards, physical and psychological violence and other forms of exploitation.
The illegal sale of newborns and children has also been reported in Iranian media and acknowledged in official statements. Reliable nationwide figures are unavailable, but reported cases have been linked to extreme poverty, addiction, family crises and illicit brokerage networks. A clear legal distinction must be maintained between illegal adoption, the sale of children and trafficking in children. Under international law, the sale of a child is a serious violation even without cross-border movement; where transfer occurs for exploitation, it may also constitute trafficking. In child cases, proof of force, coercion or deception is not required.
Child marriage is not automatically trafficking, but forced or early marriage may expose girls to sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, educational deprivation and other abuse. These risks are especially acute where poverty and gender inequality limit a girl’s ability to refuse or leave the arrangement.
Iran is a State Party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography. These instruments require the prevention of child exploitation, identification of victims and provision of protection, recovery and rehabilitation. Available evidence nevertheless indicates serious gaps in specialised assistance, data collection and long-term support.
Afghan Migrants: Irregular Status and Exposure to Exploitation
Iran has hosted a large Afghan refugee and migrant population for more than four decades. Many Afghans continue to face legal uncertainty, poverty and restricted access to basic services. Undocumented status, in particular, increases exposure to trafficking and labour exploitation because fear of arrest, detention or deportation may prevent victims from reporting abuse or seeking protection.
Many undocumented Afghan migrants work in the informal economy without enforceable contracts or effective access to legal remedies. They may face excessive hours, withheld wages, hazardous conditions and threats of denunciation to immigration authorities. Such practices may amount to forced labour when workers cannot leave because of coercion, intimidation, debt bondage or abuse of their vulnerable status.
Women and girls face additional risks arising from economic insecurity, gender discrimination and irregular status. False offers of employment, marriage or residence may be used to isolate victims from family and community support. Fear of immigration enforcement and social stigma may then prevent them from seeking assistance.
The 2024 U.S. Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report identified undocumented and unaccompanied Afghan children as particularly vulnerable to trafficking-related abuse. Many are engaged in hazardous work, including waste collection and street labour, and face heightened risks of forced labour and sexual exploitation. Their lack of legal documentation, limited educational opportunities and restricted access to protection services compound these risks.
Large-scale deportations have intensified protection concerns. Deportation itself does not constitute trafficking; however, forced returns, family separation, inadequate legal safeguards and dependence on irregular routes or criminal smuggling networks may increase exposure to trafficking and exploitation.
International human rights standards require states to identify and protect trafficking victims regardless of nationality or immigration status. Protection should include early identification, legal assistance, safe accommodation, medical and psychological care, and safeguards against return where a person faces a real risk of further abuse. Available information suggests that specialised services and referral mechanisms remain particularly limited for undocumented foreign nationals.
Legal Framework, International Obligations and Remaining Gaps
Iran criminalised trafficking through the Law on Combating Human Trafficking, adopted in 2004. The law provides criminal penalties for trafficking offences, but its implementation remains a central concern. Existing provisions do not establish a comprehensive victim-centred system covering identification, safe accommodation, medical and psychological care, legal assistance, compensation and long-term rehabilitation.
Anti-trafficking measures appear to remain focused primarily on prosecution rather than protection. An effective response requires procedures to identify victims at an early stage and to ensure that they are not punished for immigration or other offences committed as a direct consequence of being trafficked.
Iran’s obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children require effective protection against sale, trafficking, sexual exploitation and economic exploitation, together with recovery and reintegration for child victims. Iran has also joined instruments addressing transnational organised crime, creating additional duties to strengthen cooperation against trafficking networks.
The 2024 U.S. Department of State report cited persistent shortcomings in victim identification, protection services, official accountability and transparency. It also raised concerns about insufficient investigations into alleged official complicity and the limited publication of data on investigations, prosecutions and convictions.
Transparency is therefore a major obstacle to assessing Iran’s response. The authorities do not regularly publish comprehensive national statistics on identified victims, prosecutions, convictions or rehabilitation services. Without reliable data, independent evaluation of government policy remains extremely difficult.
Combating trafficking requires more than criminal enforcement. Poverty, gender inequality, child labour, irregular migration, discrimination and restricted access to justice create the conditions in which exploitation flourishes. A sustainable response must therefore reduce vulnerability while strengthening victim identification, protection and accountability.
Conclusion
Human trafficking in Iran cannot be reduced to the activities of isolated criminal networks. Economic hardship, gender discrimination, child labour, irregular migration and weak social protection create conditions that traffickers and exploitative employers can abuse.
Iran should establish a transparent national system for victim identification and referral; incorporate the principle of non-punishment into law and practice; publish data on investigations, prosecutions and convictions; provide independent shelters and legal, medical and psychological services; and screen women, children and undocumented migrants for indicators of trafficking before detention, prosecution or deportation.
As long as victims risk arrest, removal, stigma or punishment instead of protection, anti-trafficking measures will remain inadequate. The World Day Against Trafficking in Persons should therefore be used to demand transparency, accountability and a genuinely victim-centred response grounded in human dignity.
