‘Number of child laborers in Iran up 20 times since Taliban’s rise’

Deputy for Human Rights and International Affairs of Iran’s Ministry of Justice Fattah Ahmadi said on Tuesday that the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan had “brought about insecurity for families and led to a rise in the number of child laborers in Iran.”

Since the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, influxes of civilians have left their homes behind and crossed into Iran with their wives and children, Ahmadi said, adding, “We could not block them due to humanitarian considerations and sheltered them.”

He said no precise official data was available on the number of child laborers in Iran, who are mainly nationals of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq.

Despite being hit by tough US sanctions, Iran has been hospitable to the Afghan people for decades, hosting some 3.6 million documented and undocumented Afghan refugees who left their country due to war and harsh living conditions.

Iran has been facing a new influx of refugees from Afghanistan since the country came under the control of the Taliban.

Recently, the Iranian government conducted a census of illegal Afghan migrants, who hold no residency permit.