UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk delivered a scathing statement to the UN Human Rights Council’s urgent debate on the Minab school strike, demanding accountability for the deaths of schoolchildren while decrying broader US-Israel-Iran hostilities and Iran’s internal crackdown. His remarks frame the March incident as a humanitarian flashpoint in a spiralling regional conflict now risking global economic fallout. Türk’s direct quotes underscore violations of international law and the urgent need for de-escalation.
Türk evoked the bombing’s raw impact: “The bombing of Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary School in Minab evoked a visceral horror. The images of bombed-out classrooms and grieving parents showed clearly who pays the highest price for war: civilians with no power in the decisions that led to conflict. In this case, a reported 168 pupils, teachers, school staff, and their loved ones.” He insisted, “Whatever differences countries have, we can all agree they will not be solved by killing schoolchildren,” placing the onus on attackers: “In the case of this school, the onus is on those who carried out the attack to investigate it promptly, impartially, transparently and thoroughly, to determine the facts and lay the basis for accountability.” With US officials probing the strike, Türk urged swift public findings to deliver “justice for the terrible harm done.”
The High Commissioner deemed resort to force amid negotiations a “strategic failure”: “Bombs and missiles are not the path towards sustainable peace. They bring death, destruction and misery, in many cases only deepening grievances and fuelling future violence.” He detailed the pattern: “In Iran, as the conflict has progressed, US and Israeli attacks have increasingly struck densely populated residential areas and destroyed civilian infrastructure,” hitting homes, medical facilities, schools, courts, transport, and energy across all 31 provinces—killing over 1,900 civilians and injuring tens of thousands per Iranian reports. Nuclear strikes drew sharp rebuke: “The targeting of nuclear facilities is reckless beyond comprehension. These attacks raise serious concerns over compliance with international humanitarian and human rights law, under which the protection of civilians must remain central.”
Türk tied Minab to a worldwide crisis: “It is gravely concerning that around the world, attacks on schools are increasing. In 2024, such attacks surged by a shocking 44 percent, leaving 52 million children out of the classroom.” He called for action: “I call on all countries to take urgent steps to protect educational facilities, and those who study and work in them,” highlighting laws of war designed “to protect children and other civilians caught up in conflict, as well as schools and all civilian infrastructure.”
Civilians face dual threats, per Türk: “The people of Iran are caught between conflict and repression. I am gravely concerned by reports that since the start of the hostilities, the Iranian authorities have intensified their crackdown on civic space.” He cited arrests of hundreds, surveillance of journalists and activists, media bans, and a near-month-long internet shutdown, stressing: “War does not reduce the responsibility of the Iranian authorities to abide by their human rights obligations.”
Amid “dangerous” Gulf escalation, Türk warned of contagion, civilian suffering, and economic shocks like poverty and fuel shortages. His blunt appeals: “I call on the United States and Israel to end their attacks against Iran. I call on Iran to stop attacking its neighbours and to respect and protect the human rights of its own people.” He implored all sides to exercise restraint and return to negotiations as “the only path towards a durable solution.”
