Association for Defending Victims of Terrorism – The Association for Defending Victims of Terrorism in cooperation with the Children for Children Movement, the Department of Education of Tehran Province, the Foundation of Martyr and Veteran Affairs, the Peace and Friendship Ambassadors, Focal point of for the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Insan Institute of Germany, held the 4th conference of “Lawsuit for Children” at Shahid Fahmideh Primary School attended by human rights activists, advocates of rights of children, and families of victims of terrorism.
At the beginning of the event, Ms. Mansoureh Karami, the chairwoman of the Board of the Association for Defending Victims of Terrorism, said, “In order to truly support children affected by terrorism, we have launched a movement called ‘Children for Children’, because every day in our region in Afghanistan, Yemen, Iraq, Syria, Palestine, and other parts of the world many children are killed or left homeless.”
She continued, “We have to answer the question ‘What is the crime of these children? Should horror really be with children?’ We launched this movement so that children, as ambassadors of peace, can eradicate the roots of violence and extremism against children.”
At the end of her speech, the chairwoman of the board of the Association for Defending Victims of Terrorism said that protecting children is protecting the future of humanity.
In the continuation of the conference, Ms. Mansoumeh Mohammadi Nasrabadi narrated the martyrdom of her father Ali Mohammadi Nasrabadi and said, “My father was martyred on 1 September 1982 in his shop near this school (Shahid Fahmideh School) by the unfair attack of Satan’s companions.”
Ms. Nasrabadi continued, “We did not expect such an attack at all, it was very difficult for us. Every day the question came to our minds why our father was killed, but despite the passage of years we did not find an answer.”
“The terrorists did not just kill one person but attacked a family. We have been longing to see our father for many years with tears in our eyes and a broken heart,” Nasrabadi said, adding, “Children are at the front line of catastrophes and armed conflicts, facing with unforgivable crimes that endanger the future of humanity with unparalleled brutality.”
The son of martyr Ali Mohammadi Nasrabadi said at the end of his speech, “39 years after this crime, we ask the media, judicial authorities, international institutions, the UN, the Security Council and the officials of Albania and France, the commanders, facilitators and supporters to recognize it as one of the thousands of the crimes of the ignorant hypocrites and prosecute it.”
The statement of the UNICEF Representative in Afghanistan on the occasion of the World Children’s Day 2021 was read at the conference. In a part of this statement it is said, “In solidarity with the children of Afghanistan who are bearing the brunt of a rapidly escalating humanitarian crisis, this year, as UNICEF marks World Children’s Day (WCD) globally, UNICEF Afghanistan will not celebrate. Today, UNICEF Afghanistan is ‘blackwashing’ its WCD online assets and, tomorrow, November 20, the day on which UNICEF typically ‘goes blue’ for children.”
In another part of the statement we read, “Humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan has widely affected children and thousands of children are threatened by various threats.”
Dr. Shams, a child psychologist, was the next speaker at the conference. She said, “Terrorists say what they say is true and according to them, another person has no right to life. So, they don’t like dialogue because they know there is no reason for them to succeed.”
“We are seeking a lawsuit and we do not need to issue detailed statements because all the children themselves are clear statements. We oppose terrorism because we are brave people and we can openly defend our ideas,” she said.
Next, Ms. Ranjnoosh, a member of Peace and Friendship Ambassadors, stated that, “World Children’s Day calls for advocacy for children and support for vulnerable children for access to justice.”
She continued, “We see that innocent people, especially children, are victims of war and terror in different countries and we have witnessed crimes by terrorist groups in our country for many years and many children have been attacked.”
In another part of her speech, Ms. Ranjnoosh said, “We are in a time when awareness is necessary for life. Learning and teaching is one of the best methods we can use to achieve peace and balance in life,” she concluded.
Mr. Abdul Salam al-Dhahabi, a member of the Insan Institute based in Germany, said, “The main purpose of the International humanitarian law is to take measures to protect civilians, including children, who are particularly vulnerable during times of war. The Saudi-led aggression against Yemen backed by the US, most of the European countries, and the Israeli regime results in the killing and maiming of children by direct targeting and indirect actions.”
“Between 2015 and 2020, according to the UN and other international organizations, more than 10,000 children were verified as killed or maimed in the armed conflict, and ten times more than this number were killed indirectly because of the blockade and the closure of the all sea and air ports of Yemen which was the main cause of the humanitarian catastrophe there. This illegal blockade expresses the desire of the countries of the aggression for a denial of humanitarian access for children and intentional deprivation or impediment of humanitarian assistance which are essential for children’s survival.”
Mr. Abdul Salam al-Dhahabi concluded, “How many crimes and how many children will the Saudi-led coalition murder before the countries providing weapons and political support recognize this horror? How many more men, women, and children must die before the international community recognizes these serious violations against human rights children rights and international law in Yemen?”
In another part of the conference, the statement of the Association for Defending Victims of Terrorism on World Children’s Day entitled “Renewing the Covenant with Children” was read.
At the end of the event, Ms. Zainab Mohammad Qasim of Iraq narrated her story about the injuries resulted from terrorism. Also, a song called “Beautiful Iran” was sung by the students, who visited the exhibition “Voice of the Children”, which was about the children affected by the Terrorism.
