Launch of the “168+1” Campaign to legaly Pursue the Crime of the US Attack on Shajare Tayyebe School in Minab
Mr.Ali Niku, the secretary of the “168+1” campaign, stated in an interview with reporters: Following the airstrike by the US Army on the “Shajare Tayyebe” elementary school in Minab on February 28th [9 Esfand], in which 120 students, 26 teachers, and a number of parents and Iranian citizens were martyred, a group of Iranian teachers and education specialists have founded a campaign called “168+1”.
The secretary of the “168+1” campaign added: This campaign, born out of the educational community’s sense of responsibility towards violations of the security of children and educational spaces worldwide, considers its goal to be the documented, legal, and ethical pursuit of this crime, as well as rallying international institutions to commit to protecting children in crisis situations.
Mr.Niku emphasized: Schools must be safe places for learning and growth, not scenes of deliberate massacre. By examining mechanisms for international criminal prosecution, humanitarian law, violations of covenants enshrined in international treaties, and studying similar global cases, we have concluded that mere judicial pursuit in international courts is insufficient. Rather, it is necessary to create a precise, documented, and impactful narrative in the public arena, because the formation of a public image of this crime will itself be a source of pressure on the perpetrator.
He explained: In the first step of this campaign, a press conference focused on the families of the martyrs, with the presence of domestic and foreign journalists at the site of the Shajare Tayyebe school in Minab, is planned. This will provide a strong starting point for narrating this tragedy. Subsequently, by producing multi-dimensional accounts of the various aspects of the crime and different perspectives, we will create a basis for raising public awareness and inviting simple actions to strengthen the campaign’s momentum.
Mr.Niku added: Next, the campaign will move towards forming coalitions with NGOs and international institutions that have influence over judicial bodies, thereby increasing pressure on international criminal authorities to initiate relevant mechanisms. Even if, for various reasons, these efforts do not lead to the initiation of international judicial processes, at the very least, a comprehensive and documented narrative of this crime and its perpetrator will be established in the minds of the global audience.
It is worth noting, according to the secretary of the “168+1” campaign, that all steps of this work are based on precise and methodical documentation of field facts and have been endorsed by experts in international criminal law.
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