Energy News
DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Children must not be 'collateral damage' in Mideast war: UN experts

Children must not be 'collateral damage' in Mideast war: UN experts

by AFP Staff Writers
Geneva (AFP) Mar 4, 2026
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child insisted Wednesday that children must be protected during the war in the Middle East, highlighting an alleged air strike on an Iranian school.

Iran has blamed Israel and the United States for the strike on the school in the Iranian city of Minab on the first day of the war on Saturday, giving a toll of more than 150 dead.

Neither the United States nor Israel have confirmed the attack, and AFP has been unable to independently verify the toll or visit the site.

"The committee is alarmed by reports of strikes on civilian infrastructure, including schools and hospitals, which have injured and traumatised children, and claimed many young lives," it said.

"This is a reminder that children are among the most vulnerable in armed conflicts, and must never be treated as collateral damage."

According to state media, Iran on Tuesday held funerals for at least 165 people, including students, killed in the alleged strike.

State television carried images showing a large crowd of mourners in Minab weeping over what appeared to be bodies wrapped in white shrouds.

The UN committee's 18 independent experts are tasked with monitoring how countries implement the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The convention came into force in 1990. Every United Nations member state is a party, except the United States.

The convention requires countries to safeguard the rights to life, survival and development of every child, and to take all measures to ensure children's rights are respected in armed conflicts.

"Children must be protected from direct and indirect effects of hostilities," the committee said.

It called for an immediate and sustained ceasefire by all parties to the Middle East war "so that children are no longer exposed to killing, maiming, displacement, psychological harm, or other violations of their rights".

It also urged the warring parties to take all necessary measures to protect children, including ensuring that schools and hospitals are not attacked and that humanitarians can safely reach children in need.

The committee's opinions are non-binding but carry reputational weight.

Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
A world of storm and tempest
When the Earth Quakes

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Huge pit visible in Shanghai after viral sinkhole video
Shanghai (AFP) Feb 13, 2026
A gaping sinkhole was visible at a Shanghai construction site on Friday, according to an AFP reporter, a day after dramatic footage purporting to show the ground collapsing went viral. The edges of a large crater matching the location seen in the videos - a work site for a section of a new metro line in an outer district of the city - could be seen from a nearby shopping mall. Sections of the roads nearby were blocked off, with police and construction vehicles surrounding the site. Local a ... read more

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Ancient guano drove Chincha coastal power

Neem seed biochar turns waste into thermal energy storage medium

Salt solvent unlocks lignin for next generation biofuel plants

Pilot plant in Mannheim delivers tailored climate friendly fuel blends

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Golden bridge tunnel junction design boosts all perovskite tandem solar cell efficiency

Study maps path to cleaner terawatt scale solar manufacturing

Next generation solar manufacturing pathway could avoid massive CO2 output

Hydrogen bond design advances solar water oxidation efficiency

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
China added record wind and solar power in 2025, data shows

UK nets record offshore wind supply in renewables push

Trump gets wrong country, wrong bird in windmill rant

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Environmental groups sue Trump administration over scrapped climate rule

'Hard to survive': Kyiv's elderly shiver after Russian attacks on power and heat

Zelensky seeks more air defence as Russia plunges Kyiv into cold

US to repeal the basis for its climate rules: What to know

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Deep learning model tracks EV battery health with high precision

Simulations reveal how plasma flow steers fusion reactor exhaust

Soil microbe turns carbon dioxide into acetate using electricity

UCSB scientists bottle the sun with liquid battery

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Low crystallinity iron minerals show promise for chromium cleanup and carbon storage

One of Lima's top beaches to close Sunday over pollution

Indonesia capital faces 'filthy' trash crisis

China has slashed air pollution, but the 'war' isn't over

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
US forces board ship in Indian Ocean that fled Caribbean blockade: Pentagon

US renews threat to leave IEA

Oil in spotlight as Trump's Iran warning rattles sleepy markets

Brazil eyes fossil fuel roadmap 'that unites'

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Curiosity Blog, Sols 4798-4803: Back for More Science

UAE extends Mars probe mission until 2028

Mars' 'Young' Volcanoes Were More Complex Than Scientists Once Thought

Curiosity Blog, Sols 4788-4797: Welcome Back from Conjunction

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2026 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.