The 61st Session of the Human Rights Council

23 February - 31 March 2026

Urgent Debate: Protection of Children and Educational Institutions in International Armed Conflicts: The Aerial Attacks on Shajareh Tayyebeh Girls’ School in Minab, Iran, as a Grave Breach of International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law

27 March 2026

Joint Oral Statement of Association Ma'onah for Human Rights and Immigration

Delivered by Alicja Lanocha / GICJ

Thank you.

Over the last year, attacks on schools in conflict zones around the world have increased by 44%, affecting millions of children. Students and teachers, as civilians, and schools, as civilian objects, are protected under international humanitarian law. Attacking them is a war crime and a grave violation against children. We strongly condemn any attacks on schools.

We want to highlight that over the past few decades, Iran, through its militias, has been responsible for attacks on schools in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen. In Syria, more than 7000 schools were destroyed.

In Iraq, even back in 1987, an Iranian missile hit a Bilat al Suhada school during the morning assembly, killing and injuring more than 200 students. After 2003, Iran was responsible for the assassination campaign of more than 500 Iraqi academics.

In Yemen, the Iranian-backed Houthis, since their emergence in 2011, have targeted and destroyed the whole education system. They turned schools and universities into military training facilities, interrupting studies to recruit future fighters among students. It resulted in thousands of child soldiers and millions of children out of school. School bombardments stripped away their right to education and hope for a better future.

Therefore, Association Ma’onah and Geneva International Centre for Justice call for accountability for all perpetrators of school attacks. No one is above the law.