Brussels 07.03.2026 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.

10-year-old Iranian child in Minab recounts the strike that killed her 11-year-old brother and their teacher mother.

My father used to always come and pick me up from school during the last bells. He was outside too.

When he heard that sound, he said he wanted to go and save… pic.twitter.com/MasHWPVcSF

— Clash Report (@clashreport) March 6, 2026

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“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.

Spanish politician Manuela Bergerot criticised what she called the hypocrisy of supporting US and Israeli attacks on Iran while invoking feminist rhetoric, highlighting the killing of dozens of girls after a school was targeted in Minab. pic.twitter.com/ojZNUXH3gM

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) March 6, 2026

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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.

Mexican university students honor Iranian schoolgirls martyred in the US-Israeli strikes on Minab.

Follow: https://t.co/mLGcUTS2ei pic.twitter.com/4XeLujK83d

— Press TV 🔻 (@PressTV) March 7, 2026

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“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.”

Minab massacre: US probe finds American forces killed 170 Iranian schoolgirlshttps://t.co/AssX7S5xoZ

— Press TV 🔻 (@PressTV) March 6, 2026

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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.

*The experts:

Claudia Flores (Chair), Ivana Krstić (Vice-Chair), Dorothy Estrada Tanck, Haina Lu, and Laura Nyirinkindi, Working Group on discrimination against women and girls
Mai Sato, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran
Farida Shaheed, Special Rapporteur on the right to education

Special Rapporteurs/Independent Experts/Working Groups are independent human rights experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council. Together, these experts are referred to as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. While the UN Human Rights office acts as the secretariat for Special Procedures, the experts serve in their individual capacity and are independent from any government or organisation, including OHCHR and the UN. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the UN or OHCHR.