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UN Human Rights Council condemns attack on Minab school, demands investigation
The council called for an immediate investigation and accountability for those responsible, IRNA reported.
The attack occurred on February 28, the first day of the US and Israeli aggression against Iran, when an elementary school was struck by an airstrike, leaving over 170 casualties.
The session, requested by Iran, China, and Cuba, aimed to address and condemn the airstrikes by the United States and Israel. Senior Iranian and international officials, including Iran’s Foreign Minister, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and a special rapporteur on the right to education, delivered speeches.
Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, speaking virtually, described the event as part of a broader pattern of systematic human rights violations and breaches of international humanitarian law.
He highlighted the destruction or damage to over 600 schools and the killing or injury of more than 1,000 students and teachers in recent weeks, asserting that targeting civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, water facilities, and refineries, was “deliberate” and could not be attributed to error.
“When aggressors claim to possess the most advanced technologies and precise military and data systems, no one can believe that the attack on this school was anything other than a deliberate and pre-planned act,” he stated.
Araghchi labeled the attack a war crime and a crime against humanity, urging the international community to condemn the actions and hold perpetrators accountable.
He warned that continued silence on such incidents would weaken the international legal system and exacerbate insecurity.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights also condemned the attack, describing it as a shocking example of the impact of war on civilians, particularly children. The Commissioner emphasized that the killing of students is never justifiable and called for swift, independent, and transparent investigations to clarify the facts and ensure accountability.
The UN Special Rapporteur on the right to education, declared that the attack potentially constitutes a “war crime” and a serious violation of international humanitarian law. She stressed that schools are protected civilian spaces and that any attack on them is prohibited, warning that such cases should not remain in a culture of impunity.