UN Rights Council approves Iran’s request for urgent debate on Minab school massacre

The United Nations Human Rights Council has approved Iran’s request for an urgent debate on the devastating US-Israeli airstrike that killed 168 young girls at an elementary school in the southern Iranian city of Minab, marking a diplomatic victory for Tehran as it seeks international accountability for a war crime.

The request, submitted by Iran’s permanent mission and co-sponsored by China and Cuba, was approved by consensus during the council’s session on Wednesday.

The emergency debate is scheduled for March 27 and will examine the human rights and humanitarian dimensions of the February 28 attack on the Shajareh Tayyebeh school in Minab.

Addressing the council, Iranian diplomat Somayeh Karimdoost described the attack as “a grave breach of international humanitarian law and international human rights law.”

She said a US Tomahawk cruise missile struck the school during school hours, killing 168 children between the ages of seven and 12 and wounding many others.

Karimdoost stressed that schools and educational institutions enjoy explicit protection under international humanitarian law, which prohibits deliberate or indiscriminate attacks on civilian objects.

“Targeting a functioning school during school hours is not only a severe assault on children and education but also a profound assault on the future of an entire society,” she stated.

She said intentional attacks against educational facilities that are not military objectives constitute war crimes under Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

Karimdoost called on the Human Rights Council to send “a clear and unambiguous message” to the United States and Israel demanding the immediate cessation of attacks on civilians, especially children, and full respect for international law.

According to preliminary findings of a US military investigation reported by The New York Times, the Tomahawk cruise missile hit the school due to a “targeting mistake.”

Iranian officials have dismissed the explanation, noting that the strike occurred on the very first day of the US-Israeli war of aggression against Iran and was part of a pattern of attacks on civilian infrastructure.

The debate on March 27 will be the second urgent session convened by the Human Rights Council in the space of a week related to the war on Iran.

The Minab school attack occurred on February 28, the first day of the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran.

That same day, then-Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and several senior commanders were assassinated in airstrikes on Tehran.

The strike on the school quickly became a symbol of civilian suffering in Iran.

Video footage from the scene showed debris scattered across the schoolyard, bloodied textbooks, and rescue workers pulling small bodies from the rubble.

The attack drew condemnations from humanitarian organizations and prompted the UN to call for independent investigations.

Iran’s representative made clear that the debate is intended to focus on the protection of children and educational institutions in armed conflict, principles enshrined in international humanitarian law and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Iranian officials are expected to present further evidence of the deliberate targeting of civilian infrastructure, including attacks on hospitals, schools, and residential areas.

Human rights groups and legal experts may also be invited to testify.

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