Interior Ministry: Critics of the Street Children Collection Plan are 'Making Excuses'

An official from the Interior Ministry responded on Tuesday, November 21, to criticisms regarding the implementation of the street children collection plan, stating that the critics' remarks are 'a form of excuse-making and an insincere approach to the issue.' According to ILNA news agency, Reza Mahbubi, the social deputy of the Center for Social and Cultural Affairs of the Interior Ministry, reacted to comments from critics about the necessity of addressing the underlying causes of children's presence in the streets instead of collecting them, saying: 'What is being said may seem like a beautiful and correct statement on the surface, but it is not feasible.' He stated that only by eradicating poverty and creating widespread employment can the conditions for children to be in the streets and working be eliminated. This government official added that 'to say we should first solve the root issues and instead of dealing with the symptoms, we should identify the causes is not correct. Although it is right on paper, it is not feasible in practice.' Mahbubi further noted: 'The day before the implementation of the plan, we say what is happening at intersections and that social security has been compromised. We protest why this situation exists. But when a measure is taken, we say why these actions are being carried out?' He labeled the comments from critics of the plan as 'a form of excuse-making and an insincere approach to the issue.' He also addressed the criticism from some members of the Tehran City Council regarding the collection of working and street children, stating that 'these same city council members were warning earlier this year about why these children were not being collected and were even worried that they were working in organized gangs, and now when actions are taken, they say, why are you taking action?' Previously, Bahareh Arovin, a member of the Tehran City Council's board, criticized the method of collecting working children from the streets, stating that Iranian institutions are taking this action to 'collect their lagging behind from childhood and the month of Mehr.' Ms. Arovin added, 'When we cannot address the causes, we resort to eliminating the symptoms. Who are we fooling?' Meanwhile, according to ILNA, Reza Mahbubi mentioned in another part of his speech that in the implementation of the street children collection plan, 'efforts' have been made 'to adhere to all principles and regulations as much as possible.' He stated, 'There may be cases here and there where standards have not been followed, and if there is a problem in this regard, we accept it and it must certainly be adhered to.' This is the first time since the implementation of the new collection plan for working and street children that a Ministry of Interior official has responded to criticisms. Motahareh Nazari, the chair of the Board of the Child Rights Support Association, reacted to the Ministry of Interior's action by stating that the collection plan for working and street children has been executed '30 times' to date and has been 'unsuccessful.' 300 lawyers, university professors, social workers, and child rights activists also published a letter calling for an end to the 'collection of working and street children' plan. They believe that solving this problem requires conditions such as improving the economic situation of 'vulnerable' families and ensuring that their children receive education. The Minister of Interior had previously announced that those street children whose families cannot be identified would be directed to 'schools or relevant institutions' for 'skill acquisition.' Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, referring to the possibility that businesses and employers might refuse to pay the insurance costs for these children for employment, added that 'the government will also take action to pay this insurance if necessary' so that children who receive training can 'become employed.' Responsible organizations have not published accurate statistics on the number of 'street' and working children in Iran, but the ISNA news agency reported on June 11, citing three child rights activists in Iran and based on unofficial statistics, that there are seven million working children. Anoushiravan Mohseni Bandpei, head of the Welfare Organization, also announced on September 27 that '60 percent' of working children in the country are not Iranian citizens.