Criticism of Iran's Performance in the U.S. Annual Report on Human Trafficking

The U.S. Department of State in its latest annual report on human trafficking, published on Thursday, July 7, states that Iran ranks among the worst countries in the world regarding human trafficking. This annual report categorizes countries into three tiers based on their performance in combating human trafficking, with Tier 3 being the worst. This year, Iran is placed in Tier 3, with Myanmar at the top of this tier, indicating the worst performance in human trafficking. The U.S. State Department's report, titled 'Trafficking in Persons Report,' describes human trafficking as a form of 'modern slavery' and considers forcing individuals to leave their country or exploiting their residency issues abroad as subsets of human trafficking. The report, dated June 2018, states that according to reports, the Iranian government and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) are forcing Afghan migrant children and men to fight in Syria by threatening them with arrest and deportation to Afghanistan. The report adds that some of these recruited forces are teenage boys, even as young as 12-13 years old, who are sent by Iranian officials to fight on behalf of Iran-backed militias in Syria. The Islamic Republic of Iran has sent its military forces to Syria and Iraq in the form of 'Defenders of the Shrine' to fight against the opponents of Bashar al-Assad and the Islamic State (ISIS), and has dispatched many Afghan and Pakistani Shiites in the form of 'Fatimid Brigade' and 'Zainabiyoun Brigade' to Syria. Previously, the Wall Street Journal reported that Iran 'hires' thousands of Afghan refugees to fight in Syria in support of Bashar al-Assad's government by 'paying them $500 a month and granting them residency permits in Iran.' Iranian officials have denied this report and similar ones. Meanwhile, less than a year ago, the state-run news agency IRNA published a story about a 13-year-old boy from Mazandaran as the youngest 'Defender of the Shrine' in Syria, which sparked critical reactions from a group of social media activists, including some users known as 'Hezbollah.' The latest human trafficking report from the U.S. State Department continues: 'There are also reports of complicity by Islamic Republic officials in the forced recruitment of Afghan men and boys residing in Iran for fighting.' The text goes on to state: 'The Iranian government also provides financial support to militias in Iraq that use child soldiers for their wars. Despite these credible reports, the Iranian government has not investigated any allegations or held any government officials accountable for complicity in human trafficking crimes.' The text continues that 'the Iranian government has not fully complied with the minimum standards for the elimination of human trafficking and has not made significant efforts in this regard.' In another section, it states: 'Despite the lack of significant efforts, the Iranian government has taken some steps to address the issue of human trafficking, including steps to join the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. However, the Iranian government has not published any information about its overall efforts against human trafficking.' Iran's accession to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime was approved by the Islamic Consultative Assembly on January 24, 2018. The discussion about the meaning of 'terrorist groups' in this convention was a controversial topic in the Assembly, which had various opinions, but it was ultimately approved. Other sections of the U.S. State Department's latest report refer to issues such as the trafficking of girls for sexual slavery and criticize the Iranian government's record in this area.