Save the Children calls for the protection of all children and civilian infrastructure, especially schools and hospitals, following the escalation of violence in West Asia and wider region, with reports of more than 100 children killed in strikes on two schools in Iran.
The humanitarian organisation is urgently calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities to ensure the safety and well-being of children.
While hostilities are ongoing, all parties must adhere to their obligations under international law by ensuring that civilians and civilian infrastructure, including schools and hospitals, are spared from attack.
Janti Soeripto, President & CEO, Save the Children US said, “Children should never pay the price when conflict escalates. And yet, once again, they are. When schools are struck and hospitals overwhelmed, children lose their safety and stability overnight. Many children in the region have already lived through years of conflict and are now facing the terrifying impact of more, threatening their safety, robbing them of their childhood and pulling them away from classmates and opportunities to learn.
“We have worked with children in crisis for more than a century; and we know the damage does not stop with what is visible: Fear and trauma can shape a child’s future long after the immediate danger passes, leaving lasting scars.
“All parties must act now to protect children. Not tomorrow. Now. Every hour of delay is another child’s life, or future at risk. We call on all parties to immediately cease hostilities, uphold their obligations under international law and ensure that schools, hospitals and the children within them do not become targets. They never should be.”
Save the Children is large independent child rights organisation, working in about 110 countries to save and improve children’s lives.
The organisation is not active in Iran.