TEHRAN – Associations and societies of Iranian teachers have urged the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to form fact-finding committees to investigate the widespread violations of international humanitarian law by the United States and Israel during the war against Iran.

In separate letters to the UNICEF executive director, Catherine Russell, and the UNESCO director general, Khaled El-Enany, they highlighted the U.S.-Israeli attack on Shajareh Tayyebeh, an elementary school in Minab, the southern province of Hormozgan, and the assassination of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, senior officials, as well as a large number of civilians including children, women, and medical workers.

The letters argued that under Article 51 of the UN Charter, Iran has the right to defend itself against imposed aggressions. 

Referring to the bombardment of the elementary school in Minab, which killed over 168 students, the letter said the attack clearly violates the principle of distinction between civilians and military persons. 

Sadly, twenty-five days after the war, the airstrikes have led to the martyrdom of 190 students, and 51 teachers, and the injury of 183 students and teachers. More than 644 schools and 25,000 houses have been destroyed, and over 30,000 civilians have been martyred.

The letter also underlined war crimes committed against Iran’s environment (like attacking oil storage facilities), and cultural heritage sites, such as Golestan Palace, Chehel Sotoun Palace, and 56 museums.

Assaults on hospitals, health centers, ambulances, rehabilitation centres, medical centers affiliated with the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) were among other cases of violation of international humanitarian law.

The letters have called on UNICEF and UNESCO to utilize all mechanisms of international humanitarian law to censure the killing of students in Minab and punish the aggressors as war criminals.

They also urged the two organizations to prioritize the provision of psychological support for children affected by the war, reconstruction of hospitals and schools damaged during conflicts, preservation of historical sites, and prevention of further damages.