Hengaw warns of IRGC recruitment of children as young as 12 during war
Hengaw – Friday, March 27, 2026
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has launched a program under which children over the age of 12 are officially being called upon to participate in military and security-related activities. This measure constitutes a clear violation of children’s rights and represents the use of children within military and security structures.
Reports published by state-affiliated media, including Rokna News Agency, indicate that Rahim Naderali, the cultural and artistic deputy of the IRGC Mohammad Rasoulollah Corps in Tehran, announced the launch of a campaign titled “Defenders of the Homeland Fighters for Iran.” The announcement states that individuals from the age of 12 are permitted to register for cooperation in areas such as operational activities, support, logistics and checkpoint patrols.
Basij bases and checkpoints are currently considered potential targets for attacks, and sending children as young as 12 to these locations effectively amounts to knowingly placing children’s lives in danger. Deploying minors to such environments exposes them to direct security and military risks and may amount to the use of children as human shields.
Documented evidence indicates that Iranian authorities have for years used cultural and educational programs to promote ideological indoctrination among children and adolescents. These policies appear aimed at preparing minors for security and military roles before they reach the legal age for informed decision-making, effectively placing them in service of political and security objectives.
Under international standards and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict, any recruitment, training or use of individuals under the age of 18 in military or paramilitary structures is prohibited. By lowering the operational recruitment age to 12, Iranian authorities are systematically violating children’s rights to life, security and normal development.
Hengaw Organization for Human Rights considers this policy to constitute an organized crime against children and calls on the United Nations, UNICEF and international human rights organizations to increase diplomatic and legal pressure on Iranian authorities to stop this practice.
