نقد سیاست جنایی تقنینی ایران در جرایم مهاجرت اتباع افغانستان

In criminological scholarship, the theory of "criminal ecology" analyzes the interrelations among migration, settlement, and patterns of offending and victimization. The legislative layer of criminal policy in the legal system of each state, inspired by the teachings of ecological criminology, is responsible for criminalization and penalization (sentencing) in matters such as offenses related to the migration of foreigners into the country and the criminogenic instabilities arising from migrant life within the territory of the host or transit state. The cultural and economic poverty (deprivation) of the majority of Afghan nationals who commit the offense of unlawful entry into Iran—particularly since 2021 (1400 SH), when the flood (influx) of migrants across the eastern borders has grown increasingly due to the unjustified leniency of relevant domestic policymakers—has generated a wide range of social crises. These include a rising rate of offending as well as the heightened victimization of Afghans who have poured into Iran with the intention of settling or transiting toward Turkey and Europe. This challenge necessitates a firm resolve of Iranian criminal law to effectively utilize the instruments of criminalization and punishment. This article, using the method of legal discourse analysis, critiques Iran's criminal policy due to its obsolescence and shortcomings in the scope of criminalization as well as in the type and severity of punishments. The findings reveal that certain outdated and ineffective Iranian laws have a counterproductive effect (exert a reverse impact) on Afghan migrants—encouraging rather than deterring unlawful conduct—thus constituting a significant legal weakness that contributes to the marginalization crises they face in Iranian urban areas. The article concludes by proposing reforms to the draft Law on Combating Human Trafficking, Migrants, and Organ Trade, and the Punishment of Unlawful Border Crossings (2024), as well as amendments to the draft bill for the addition of five notes to Article 16 of the Law on the Entry and Residence of Foreign Nationals in Iran (2024), with a view to strengthening Iran's criminal policy in this domain.