UN rights council set to hold urgent debate Friday on Iran school strike

GENEVA: The UN Human Rights Council is ready to hold a second urgent debate this week linked to the Middle East war, focused on a deadly strike on an Iranian school.

Council president Sidharto Reza Suryodipuro told the United Nations’ top rights body that a request for an urgent debate on the “protection of children and educational institutions in international armed conflicts” could take place on Friday.

The debate, requested by Iran, China and Cuba, explicitly refers to the airstrike on a school in the southern city of Minab on the first day of the war on February 28 that killed at least 165 people, most of them children.

A US Tomahawk cruise missile hit the school due to a targeting mistake, according to the preliminary findings of a US military investigation reported by The New York Times newspaper.

READ MORE: Iranian school: US responsible for missile strike: NYT

Suryodipuro made his announcement at the start of another rare urgent debate at the council focused on the Middle East war.

The ongoing debate, requested by Bahrain on behalf of the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and Jordan, was focused exclusively on Iran’s strikes on countries across the Gulf region and their impact on civilians.

In the debate, the 47-member council was considering a draft resolution that “condemns in the strongest terms the egregious attacks” by Iran, condemns Tehran’s actions aimed at closing the Strait of Hormuz and voices “grave concerns at the Iranian attacks on energy infrastructure”.

It demands Iran “immediately and unconditionally cease all unprovoked attacks”against the GCC states and Jordan and “provide full, effective and prompt reparation to all victims for the damage and injury caused by its attacks”.

When that debate wraps up later Wednesday, the council will be asked to approve the holding of the second urgent debate on Friday, the council president said – a motion that is expected to pass.