The International Organisation to Preserve Human Rights condemns the reported systematic use of schools, educational spaces, and children by the ruling authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran for military and security purposes. The organisation warns that using children as human shields constitutes a serious violation of civilian rights and international norms, emphasising that the protection of children and educational institutions is a universal and non-negotiable obligation for the international community.
Published images and reports showing the deployment of armed forces, military equipment, and even the involvement of children in drills and paramilitary programs constitute clear and repeated violations of the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law.
In one of the most recent cases, the IRGC, which has recently been designated as a terrorist organisation by the European Union and many countries worldwide, used an elementary girls’ school in Minab in Southern Iran for military purposes, resulting in the tragic death of more than sixty female students.
In another unprecedented act, the regime’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson held a weekly press conference inside a school building, in full view of the international community.
It must be emphasised that under international humanitarian law, particularly the principles enshrined in the four Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, schools and educational institutions are considered civilian objects. Any military use of such facilities, especially in residential areas, constitutes the use of “human shields” and amounts to a war crime.
The use of children in military or paramilitary activities is also a grave violation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict.
These actions not only place the lives of children, teachers, and families in direct danger, but also systematically expose the entire civilian population to serious harm. The militarisation of schools effectively strips citizens of education, psychological security, and the right to live safely, and responsibility for the resulting humanitarian consequences lies directly with the governing authorities of Iran.
Children, as an inherently vulnerable group, are entitled to heightened protection under international law. Their involvement in military displays, armed training, or presence in militarised environments not only threatens their right to life and security and causes severe physical and psychological harm, but also constitutes structural child abuse and the indoctrination of organised violence.
Accordingly, the International Organisation to Preserve Human Rights calls upon relevant international bodies, including the United Nations, UNICEF, and the International Criminal Court, to first register and examine these acts as serious and ongoing violations of international law, to activate independent fact-finding mechanisms, and to pursue international legal accountability against both perpetrators and those who ordered these violations.
We also call upon world leaders, particularly those of democratic states, to end the deadly silence in the face of these abuses, to provide effective political and legal support for the rights of Iranian children and civilians, and to intensify targeted diplomatic and legal pressure to immediately halt the military use of schools and children.