Momentum on Tuesday issued a statement in support of Maltese diplomat Vanessa Frazier following criticism levelled at her by Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, over remarks she made about reported attacks on Iranian schools.
Frazier, who serves as the United Nations Secretary-General's Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, said she was "deeply alarmed" by reports of attacks on Iranian schools that had left a large number of casualties, mostly children. In a post on X sharing a BBC article, she recalled that the UN Security Council has designated attacks on schools and hospitals as grave violations against children and stressed that schools must remain safe places for learning.
Her statement drew criticism from Danny Danon, Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, who argued that Frazier had failed to refer to children killed in Israel by Iranian missiles. He also alleged that a photograph accompanying her post was unrelated to the reported school attacks, claiming it had been taken around two months ago and depicted protesters killed in Iran. Danon called on Frazier to condemn what he described as an Iranian attack that resulted in the deaths of Israeli children.
In response, Momentum said it was "full square behind" Vanessa Frazier and condemned what it described as an attack on a United Nations official who was carrying out her duty by speaking up for vulnerable children affected by conflict.
Momentum leader Arnold Cassola said that children are "the most vulnerable of creatures" and must be protected worldwide, irrespective of nationality. "Any government that targets children with violent actions, whether they are Israeli, Palestinian, Iranian, European or Maltese, should face the International Criminal Court in The Hague," he said.
Cassola commended Frazier for highlighting what he described as inhuman and cruel violence against children. He added that the Israeli government "would do itself a big favour" if it removed Danon from its diplomatic corps.
The controversy comes amid conflicting accounts over a reported strike on a girls' school in Minab, southern Iran, near a base of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which has previously been targeted. According to Iranian officials, 153 people, including children, died in the incident. Iran has blamed the United States and Israel.
The US military's Central Command (Centcom) said it was looking into reports of the strike, while Israel's military said it was not aware of any Israel Defense Forces operations in the area.