GENEVA - UN experts* today expressed profound shock and grief after a girls' primary school in Minab, in Iran's Hormozgan province, was struck during the United States of America's and Israeli military attacks on 28 February 2026, reportedly killing at least 165 schoolgirls and injuring many others.
"A strike on a school represents a grave assault on children, on education, and on the future of an entire community," the experts said. "There is no excuse for killing girls in a classroom."
According to reports, a missile struck the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls' school during school hours. The victims were mainly girls aged between 7 and 12, and large parts of the school building were destroyed while classes were underway. This attack occurred amid escalating hostilities in the region.
Schools are civilian objects and children are expressly protected under international humanitarian law, the experts underlined. Directing attacks against civilian objects, including schools, unless they become military objectives, is prohibited under treaty and customary international humanitarian law, and indiscriminate attacks are strictly prohibited. Intentional attacks on educational buildings that are not military objectives are war crimes listed in the Rome Statute under article 8.
"An attack on a functioning school during class hours raises the most serious concerns under international law and must be urgently, independently, and effectively investigated, with accountability for any violations," the experts said. "Civilians must never be treated as collateral."
They stressed that girls still face gendered and intersecting barriers to education in different contexts, including insecurity, discrimination, poverty, and restrictions on safe access to learning.
"The reported destruction of a school and the killing of girls in a classroom is among the most flagrant examples of how conflict can steal girls' futures in an instant, extinguishing not only young lives, but also the hopes, agency, and opportunities education makes possible," the experts said.
They noted that the reported attack unfolds against a backdrop of entrenched, systematic gender-based discrimination in Iran that has profoundly affected women's and girls' right to life and their civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, from marriage, divorce and inheritance to access to justice. Women continue to be executed under the qisas system for homicide, often after killing partners in the context of domestic violence, sexual abuse and child marriage. Meanwhile, discriminatory laws shield male perpetrators of femicide from standard penalties, by allowing claims of so-called "honour", a woman's perceived disobedience, or her attempt to leave a marriage to serve as justification. During the nationwide protests that began in December 2025, over 200 children, including girls, were reportedly killed by security forces, many others remain arbitrarily detained, including children, and are reportedly facing the death penalty.
"Our thoughts are with the families of the victims and the survivors who now face unimaginable trauma," the experts said. "The killing of children can never be justified."
The experts reiterated their call for an immediate end to hostilities and urged all parties to fully respect their obligations under international humanitarian law, protect civilians, especially women and girls, guarantee accountability through an independent and impartial investigation, and provide effective redress for victims.
"During armed conflict, education must be prioritised as much as other lifesaving responses, as it provides protection, resilience and social cohesion," the experts said.
