the power to consider individual complaints and carry out investigations on behalf of children. Legal status of children in Iran Although the Islamic Republic of Iran has ratified the CRC, the law in Iran operates and gains legitimation only within an Islamic framework, which implies that any law has to conform to certain “Islamic criteria”. The Islamic Republic of Iran has been urged multiple times by the United Nations Committee on the rights of the child to withdraw its reservation to the Convention, according to the CRC, which states that “A reservation incompatible with the object and purpose of the present Convention shall not be permitted.” As a consequence, children are subject to the arbitrary way in which “Islamic criteria” are interpreted by State Authorities, namely the Parliament (Majlis), the Supreme Leader and The Guardian Council. It is possible for individual children to bring to court cases of abuse experienced by them. However, this does not apply to criminal cases. Children under the age of fifteen usually need to present their case in court through their guardian. According to the Civil Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran, “The protection of the person who is under guardianship as well as his legal representation in all matters relating to his property and financial rights, are entrusted to the guardian.” This makes providing justice for children very unlikely when the perpetrator of violence is the guardian, usually the mother. The Iranian Law does not regard the child as an entity with their rights and legal recognition, and therefore does not respect the General Comment No.12 (2009) within the CRC regarding the child's right to be heard. In 2013, more than 2,400 child abductions were reported to the Association for the Protection of the Rights of the Child in Iran. The Children's Rights Advocacy Association, which manages the telephone counseling line, (Sedayeh Yara) says 55 percent of the children have been subjected to psychological and emotional punishment and 45 percent are subject to physical punishment. According to the statistics by Shirin Sadr Nuri, a member of the Association for the Protection of Children's Rights, citing to ISNA news agency, 93% of those who contacted the association in 2013, were the mothers of the children, and three percent were the children themselves. Two percent of calls were from their fathers. Children in the justice system Age of criminal responsibility With regard to the definition