At Least One Million People in Iran Lack Birth Certificates

Ali Rahmati, the director of the Civil Registration Office of Sistan and Baluchestan, has announced that 1,694 cases related to individuals without birth certificates are under review for Iranian citizenship. Additionally, 8,121 people in the province are deprived of "civil registration services," and for 1,592 individuals, a judicial order has been issued to impose a "ban on civil registration services." Meanwhile, according to the state-run ILNA news agency, Mahmoud Reza Kaveh Sarjou, the head of the Zahedan City Council, stated that "a small percentage of those without birth certificates in Sistan and Baluchestan are foreign nationals, but most of them are Iranian and have roots in the country." He emphasized that many of these individuals have been deprived of public services. This local official criticized complex issues such as lengthy administrative processes, heavy costs, and insufficient access to services for individuals without birth certificates, stating: "These individuals are not only deprived of banking and medical services, but even their children cannot access education." Following this report, Mansour Rouhi, a civil activist from Chabahar, said that "those without birth certificates in Sistan and Baluchestan are individuals whose ancestors have lived in this region for generations, but now due to a lack of identity documents, they have fallen out of life." This civil activist added that these individuals live in old cities and neighborhoods such as Zahedan, Chabahar, Dashtiari, Siyahband, and Saravan. Criticizing the complex administrative bureaucracy, he said: "Issuing a limited number of birth certificates, compared to the population of 50,000 to 100,000 individuals without birth certificates in the province, is inadequate." Rouhi suggested that "representatives from the Ministry of Interior and local trusted individuals should be stationed in neighborhoods to investigate and resolve the issues of those without birth certificates in those areas." Sajid Jouhar, a member of the Central District Council of Dashtiari County, discussed the situation of those without birth certificates in the region, stating that "according to field statistics, in the central district of Dashtiari alone, about 2,000 individuals from 500 households lack birth certificates, and this statistic is similar in the Bahookalat district." He added that of this number, about 200 cases have been registered with the Civil Registration Office, with "some cases taking up to 10 years to process, and many families have been discouraged from following up due to these delays." Jouhar pointed out that 98% of those without birth certificates come from low-income families, stating: "These individuals are deprived of the most basic citizen rights, such as opening bank accounts, receiving subsidies, and social assistance." He emphasized: "Some laws have been implemented for these individuals in other provinces, but they have not been enforced in Sistan and Baluchestan. This issue requires immediate action." The story of a family like "Farhad Shahbakhsh" exemplifies this crisis. Farhad, who is the child of a father with a birth certificate and a mother without one, has been arrested twice due to a lack of identity documents and has been deported to the borders of Pakistan and Afghanistan. This stateless Baluch, in an interview with ILNA, complains about numerous deprivations such as lack of access to medical, educational, and even employment services, stating: "Our life is like a slow death." The report indicates that women face even more significant challenges. Mina, Farhad's wife, who gave birth to her child at home, says: "Due to the lack of a birth certificate and maternity facilities, many women are forced to give birth at home. If a natural birth is not possible, there is no way to perform a cesarean section in public hospitals." According to statistics, the number of individuals without birth certificates in Sistan and Baluchestan is estimated to be between 50,000 and 100,000. Provincial officials have also stated that about 98% of these individuals come from low-income brackets. The border residents of the province, which shares borders with Pakistan and Afghanistan, have been struggling with the problem of "statelessness" for years, while this deprivation of citizenship rights, which is reinforced by the Islamic Republic against non-Shia ethnic groups, is also observed in five other provinces of the country. According to available statistics, more than one million people in the provinces of Sistan and Baluchestan, Khorasan, Golestan, Kerman, and West Azerbaijan are facing the problem of statelessness. A video attributed to the arrest of a stateless Baluch citizen transferred to a foreign national camp in Yazd highlights the lack of access to statistics on citizenship applicants for children of Iranian mothers and the incomplete implementation of the "Citizenship Law," leaving thousands of children without birth certificates in a long queue.