Questions mount over reported airstrike on Iranian school
in de media image: Dmytro Tolokonov via Unsplash
Conflicting reports about an airstrike on an Iranian school are causing international concern. Helen Duffy, Professor of International Human Rights and Humanitarian Law was asked to clarify states obligations under international law. In Euro News she called for a swift and independent investigation.
Reports of an alleged airstrike on a school in Iran, in which more than 170 people - mostly schoolgirls - were killed, have sparked reactions worldwide, but the facts and responsibility remain disputed. Under international humanitarian law, civilian objects such as schools, homes, and hospitals must be protected from attack.
Duffy emphasizes that, under international humanitarian law, it is important that states do everything feasible to protect civilians, including careful verification of the intended target in advance. ‘If there is doubt about the nature of a target, it should be presumed civilian, to safeguard this fundamental rule of civilian protection.’
According to Duffy, Iran was also obliged under international law not to endanger civilians by placing them near legitimate military targets. But this does not itself justify the attack the school.
'International law isn't just an agreement between states, where if one violates, others can too. It is a promise to humanity to protect civilians’, Duffy said. ‘Even if the school shouldn't have been there, it doesn’t change the legal questions, and the apparent unlawfulness and disproportionate civilian harm.’