This part of the report examines young people’s right to remain in their country and to migrate, health and well-being, drug use and criminal drug policy, and individual freedoms, equality and social participation in Iran.
Right to Remain, Freedom of Movement and Access to Opportunities
Limited educational and employment opportunities, the economic crisis, discrimination, and political and social restrictions have made migration one of the principal issues facing Iran’s young generation.
- Increased Migration of Highly Skilled Persons and Professionals
According to data from the Iran Migration Observatory, published by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), the migration of highly skilled persons and professionals has increased by 82 per cent in recent years, with the annual number of emigrants rising from approximately 60,000 to approximately 110,000. This trend encompasses students, physicians, engineers, researchers, entrepreneurs and other skilled professionals.
- Factors Contributing to Migration
These reports identify the perceived absence of a professional future, lack of equal opportunities, low income relative to living costs, employment discrimination, and social and political restrictions as factors contributing to young people’s increased desire to migrate. In its Global Employment Trends for Youth 2024 report, the International Labour Organization (ILO) also identifies the shortage of quality jobs, unstable employment and economic insecurity as factors driving youth migration in middle-income countries.
Reports by the United Nations and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran have also identified the narrowing of civic space, pressure on student and civil society activists, and fear of prosecution and arrest as factors influencing some young people’s decisions to leave the country; however, no disaggregated statistics concerning this group have been published.
Rights to Health, Well-Being and Social Protection
- Mental Health and Suicide
The World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that one in seven persons aged 10–19 worldwide lives with a mental disorder and that suicide is the third leading cause of death among persons aged 15–29. WHO identifies poverty, unemployment, violence, discrimination, insecurity and restricted life opportunities as factors that threaten young people’s mental health.
In Iran, health professionals, scientific associations, academic studies and the Legal Medicine Organization have warned of increasing depression, anxiety, feelings of insecurity, psychological exhaustion, diminished hope for the future and a rising trend in suicide among young people. Current national data disaggregated by age are not published regularly.
- Access to Health Services and the Effects of Repression
Rising treatment costs, economic pressure on households, shortages of specialized mental health services and limited support resources have impeded access to treatment and counselling services for some young people. Specialists have emphasized the need to expand counselling services, provide insurance coverage for mental health care and strengthen social support.
Reports by the United Nations Special Rapporteur and the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission have documented the psychological effects of arbitrary detention, torture, violence, threats, enforced disappearance and security pressure on victims, their families and, in particular, young people, and have emphasized victims’ access to treatment, psychological rehabilitation and social support.
Young People, Drug Use and the Consequences of Criminal Drug Policy
- Age of Initiation and Patterns of Drug Use
The Director-General for Treatment at Iran’s Drug Control Headquarters has stated that the age of initiation into drug use in Iran has fallen to 14–15, that consumption peaks among persons aged 20–25, and that the preliminary results of the latest epidemiological survey on drug use indicate the highest prevalence among persons aged 24–35.
Reports by the State Welfare Organization indicate that persons aged 18–25 constitute the largest group of methamphetamine users and that approximately 52 per cent of users of gol (cannabis) are aged 15–29; nearly 15 per cent of gol users are university students and 3.7 per cent are school pupils.
- Contributing Factors and Preventive Approaches
Iran’s Drug Control Headquarters, the State Welfare Organization and specialized studies identify peer pressure, unemployment, poverty, hopelessness about the future, mental disorders, weak family support, lack of coping skills and reduced social opportunities as factors contributing to drug use among young people. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has also emphasized preventive, educational and treatment-based approaches and attention to economic and social factors, rather than reliance solely on punitive measures.
- Imprisonment and the Death Penalty in Drug-Related Cases
No disaggregated statistics have been published on the number of young people arrested, imprisoned or convicted in drug-related cases. The Secretary-General of Iran’s Drug Control Headquarters stated that, during the Iranian year ending in March 2025, approximately 15 per cent of admissions to the country’s prisons were related to drug offences, while persons convicted of such offences constituted approximately 40 per cent of the prison population.
Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) reported that, from 2010 to November 2025, at least seven persons who were under 18 at the time of the offence were executed for drug-related offences. Comprehensive, disaggregated statistics on the number of young people executed in such cases are unavailable.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran and UN experts have emphasized that imposing the death penalty for drug offences is incompatible with the “most serious crimes” threshold under international law and that the execution of persons who were under 18 at the time of the offence is absolutely prohibited. Amnesty International has also reported a sharp increase in drug-related executions and their disproportionate impact on disadvantaged and vulnerable groups.
Equality, Individual Freedoms and Social Participation
Reports by the United Nations, the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran have documented intensified restrictions on individual freedoms, equality, and the social, cultural and civic participation of young people, particularly girls and young women, following the 2022 uprising and protests in subsequent years.
- Girls and Young Women in the Protests
Girls and young women, particularly during the December 2025–January 2026 uprising, participated extensively in street and university protests and in organizing student activities, and faced arrest, physical violence and judicial prosecution. In Mashhad, one of the principal centres of protest, girls and young women constituted a significant proportion of protesters.
Saghar Etemadi, aged 22, was critically injured by dozens of metal pellets to the head during protests in Farsan, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province, and was admitted to an intensive care unit. At the University of Tehran, Sarira Karimi, Secretary of the Student Guild Council of the Faculty of Law and Political Science and a member of the university’s Central Student Guild Council, issued a message following her arrest during the protests calling for student unity against repression and opposition to the presence of Basij forces on campus.
Reported arrests include Donya Sabouri, aged 20, and Yekta Darzadeh, aged 20, in Mashhad; Hasti Karimi, aged 16, Saba Mahroumi, aged 17, Zahra Mahdavi, aged 17, Soha Davoudifar, aged 17, and Nazanin-Zahra Mousavi, aged 17, in Sabzevar; Zahra Izadinia, aged 26, in Yasuj; Mehrsa Maleki, aged 20, in Sarbandar; and Setayesh Khazaei, aged 19, and Nazanin Khazaei, aged 18, in Shahriar, Karaj.
- Freedom of Expression and Access to Information
Social media filtering, internet shutdowns, restrictions and disruptions, surveillance of online activity and the judicial prosecution of users have limited young people’s freedom of expression and access to information. The UN Fact-Finding Mission and the Special Rapporteur on Iran have identified internet shutdowns and restrictions as tools used to control protests, prevent the documentation of human rights violations and disrupt communication among protesters, particularly young people.
- Civic, Cultural and Professional Participation
Young civil society activists, journalists, artists, athletes, writers and cultural figures have faced summonses, arrest, judicial proceedings, professional bans, travel bans, and administrative and judicial restrictions for supporting protests or expressing their views.
United Nations reports have documented the security authorities’ response to student activities, civil society associations, professional organizations, social campaigns and peaceful youth activism, including summonses, arrests, suspension from education, denial of participation in professional associations and pressure on young activists.
- Gender Discrimination
The United Nations Special Rapporteur and the Fact-Finding Mission have documented restrictions on clothing and participation in certain social and cultural activities, law-enforcement action, judicial pressure and other discriminatory policies against girls and young women.
Concluding Assessment
United Nations documents, reports by the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission, Amnesty International and official data demonstrate violations of young people’s rights in Iran in the areas of life and fair trial, education, employment, health, freedom of expression, equality and civic participation. Despite repression and its human and judicial costs, young people remain among the principal actors in student movements, civil society activities and protests for freedom, justice, equality and human dignity.
