Abstract

The military operations conducted by the United States and Israel against certain Iranian universities, educational institutions, and research centers have generated significant legal debate concerning the status of such facilities under international humanitarian law. These attacks have raised fundamental questions regarding the legal protection afforded to universities and research institutions during armed conflicts, the circumstances under which they may lawfully become military objectives, and the extent to which international humanitarian law permits attacks against them.

International humanitarian law is founded upon the principle of distinction, which requires parties to an armed conflict to distinguish at all times between civilian objects and military objectives. Educational institutions, universities, and civilian research centers are generally regarded as civilian objects and therefore enjoy protection against attack unless and for such time as they become military objectives in accordance with the criteria established by international humanitarian law. Nevertheless, the practical application of these principles is often complicated by the evolving nature of modern warfare, particularly where civilian infrastructure performs functions that may indirectly or directly contribute to military capabilities.

This article seeks to examine the legal status of universities and educational and research centers under international humanitarian law by addressing the following principal research question: Under what circumstances may universities and research institutions lawfully lose their civilian protection and become legitimate military objectives? In answering this question, the article also considers whether recent attacks against Iranian universities and research facilities can be justified under the applicable rules of international humanitarian law or whether they constitute violations of the legal protections afforded to civilian infrastructure.

The study employs a doctrinal legal research methodology based upon the systematic analysis of international treaties, customary international humanitarian law and relevant soft-law instruments.

The findings demonstrate that, from the perspective of international humanitarian law, universities and educational and research centers may be classified into two broad legal categories. The first category consists of military educational institutions, including military academies, officer training universities, defense colleges, and research centers that are organizationally integrated into the armed forces of a State. Because these institutions are established primarily to support military operations, train military personnel, or directly contribute to national defense capabilities, they are military objectives by their very nature and are governed by the rules applicable to military installations under international humanitarian law.

The second category comprises civilian universities, public and private educational institutions, scientific laboratories, and civilian research centers that are not organizationally affiliated with the armed forces. As a general rule, these institutions constitute civilian objects and therefore benefit from protection against military attack. Their destruction cannot be justified merely because weakening a State’s educational, scientific, or technological capacity may indirectly diminish its long-term national strength. Rather, the protection of such institutions reflects the broader objective of international humanitarian law to preserve civilian life and civilian infrastructure during armed conflict and to minimize unnecessary human suffering.

Although neither the Hague Conventions nor the Geneva Conventions expressly identify universities and research institutions as a distinct protected category, their protection is derived from the general principles governing civilian objects, particularly the principles of distinction, military necessity, proportionality, and precaution. Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions further reinforces these protections by prohibiting attacks directed against civilian objects unless they effectively contribute to military operation and their destruction, capture, or neutralization offers a definite military advantage under the circumstances prevailing at the time of the attack. Furthermore, a growing body of soft-law instruments developed specifically to safeguard education during armed conflict strengthens the normative expectation that educational institutions should remain protected from the effects of hostilities whenever possible.

The study further concludes that maintaining the civilian character of universities and research institutions is not solely the responsibility of the attacking party; States exercising control over such facilities also bear important obligations under international humanitarian law to preserve their protected status and reduce the risk of incidental harm, they should refrain, as far as practicable, from locating military installations, deploying military personnel, storing weapons, or conducting military operations within or in the immediate vicinity of universities and civilian research centers. The deliberate use of civilian educational facilities to shield military assets or military activities may compromise their protected status and expose them to lawful attack under the rules governing military objectives.

Accordingly, this article concludes that the legal status of universities and educational and research institutions under international humanitarian law depends not upon their formal designation but upon their actual functions and contribution to military operations. Civilian universities enjoy comprehensive legal protection against attack unless they lose that protection by becoming military objectives under the strict criteria established by international humanitarian law. Any interpretation that broadly permits attacks against educational institutions solely because of their scientific activities, technological capabilities, or potential future contribution to national development would undermine the humanitarian objectives of the law of armed conflict and significantly weaken the protection afforded to civilian infrastructure.

Keywords: Universities and Educational-Research Centers, Military Objectives, Principle of Precaution, Principle of Distinction, Principle of Proportionality, Military Advantage.