The Taliban's "systematic" targetting of educators in Afghanistan must not go unpunished, said the United Nations expert on education in a strongly worded statement Friday.
"Their attacks on schools, teachers and others working on education are systematic, not random," said Vernor Munoz Villalobos in a statement.
"They are part of a deliberate attack on human rights, on equality for women and on any attempt by their fellow citizens to control their own destiny," he added.
"There must be an end to impunity for those who attack schools, students and educators," said Villalobos, who is the UN special rapporteur on the right to education.
Villalobos issued the statement after the Taliban killed three female aid workers with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and their Afghan driver in Afghanistan.
It was the deadliest attack in years on international aid workers and came amid growing concern about the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan.
He paid tribute to the aid workers and urged states to "intensify efforts to put an end to the growing pattern of attacks" on education and educators that is common in armed conflicts.
"Such attacks violate international humanitarian law and international criminal law, and their perpetrators must know that they will not go unpunished," he said.