NEW YORK (Dispatches) – Iran’s Ambassador to the UN Gholamali Khoshroo has condemned increasing attacks on clinical centers in Yemen, Syria, Afghanistan, Palestine and elsewhere.
"Attacks against medical workers and facilities as well as the humanitarian convoys delivering medical supplies, have increased since the adoption of the resolution,” he told a UN Security Council debate on protection of civilians in armed violence.
"Only in 2016, attacks on health care facilities, health workers, ambulances and patients has occurred in 23 countries under these conditions. These attacks are taking place in various places around the world, but in terms of frequency and ferocity, such attacks in the Middle East are more prevalent,” he said.
"We condemn all the attacks that have taken place against medical and humanitarian staff, facilities and means of transport throughout the world especially in Palestine, Afghanistan, Yemen and Syria,” he added.
Khoshroo said the perpetrators try to justify the atrocities by billing them as mistakes, adding their repeated use of the pretext makes it hard to believe the claims.
"It is difficult to understand how it is possible that, at a time of high-tech and high precision modern bombs, ‘mistakes’ could happen so frequently targeting medical facilities and personnel in areas of armed conflict.  
"Hospitals are public facilities, whose locations are well known by all parties to the conflict and necessary protocols are in place to avoid bombing them. Unfortunately, such incidents keep occurring and the perpetrators continue to claim that they are simply mistakes,” he said.
The ambassador cited tragedies, such as the U.S. bombing of the Médecins Sans Frontières hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan in October 2015 and declaring it as a mistake, which ended without any military personnel involved being convicted.
Khoshroo said the Saudi-led aggression in Yemen since March 2015 "has led to many well documented war crimes, including the destruction of much civilian infrastructure, including medical facilities and this aggression continues unabated under the watch of this council.”
"Worse even, this unfortunate misadventure is enjoying the ever increasing military, logistical and training support of the United States and its air force,” he said.
Khoshroo said there needs to be greater efforts to document and analyze all incidents that affect the security and wellbeing of health-care workers and facilities, and ensure that impartial, independent and prompt investigations are carried out and that those who are found to be perpetrating such acts are brought to justice.
The UN Security Council, he said, "must abandon its double standards when it comes to bombing humanitarian and health facilities and workers.”
"By highlighting some attacks and remaining silent on others, the Council discredits its own resolutions, especially 2286,” he said.