IRAN* The Islamic Republic of Iran, with a population of ...

IRAN
to choose either to relocate to refugee settlements, sometimes in other parts of the
country, or to repatriate. However, the UNHCR noted that some of these refugee
settlements needed rehabilitation. The limited number of resettlement locations is a
major constraint for the UNHCR to assist refugees with relocation within the
country. Of the 7,922 Afghans who repatriated from January 1 to November 7, the
vast majority said they were under pressure to return due to the government's No-
Go Areas policy.
According to the UNHCR, the government's reregistration campaign launched in
2008 to assist male refugees to obtain work permits enabled more refugees to work
in the country. The law allows only male refugees to work, but UNHCR has in the
past provided limited assistance to female refugees.
In July 2009 according to the UNHCR, the government announced a policy to treat
the enrollment of all school-age children, including lawful foreign residents and
registered refugees, in the same manner. However, at year's end there was no
information available about how the new policy was enforced. According to 2009
reports, more than a quarter of primary-school-aged refugees were not enrolled in
school. The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants reported in 2008 that
Afghan refugee children were charged fees to attend school, while Iraqi refugee
children were able attend public school for free. In some cases, local government
officials reportedly suspended education services for refugees to encourage them to
repatriate.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to Change Their
Government
The constitution provides citizens the right to peacefully change the president and
the parliament through free and fair elections, but the authority of unelected
representatives over the election process severely abridged this right in practice.
The Assembly of Experts elects the supreme leader, the recognized head of state,
who may be removed only by a vote of the assembly. The supreme leader exercises
influence over the government appointments of the 12 clerics and religious jurists
who make up the Guardian Council. The Guardian Council then approves the list
of candidates for the Assembly of Experts, whose 86 members must also be clerics,
who serve eight-year terms and are chosen by popular vote. There was no
separation of state and religion, and clerical influence pervaded the government.
The supreme leader also approved presidential candidates.
Elections and Political Participation
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