DCI-Palestine submits report to the UN

DCI-Palestine submits report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child
4 June 2012
Today, DCI-Palestine submitted a report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in advance of its review of Israel’s compliance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 2013. All states that have ratified the Convention are periodically reviewed by this independent UN Committee.

DCI’s report to the Committee covers the period from 2002 to 2012 (reporting period), and includes information on the following issues:

• Fatalities – During the reporting period, DCI documented 1,020 cases of children killed as a result of the conflict. In 85 percent of cases, the children were killed in the Gaza Strip.

• Injuries – The report focuses on 30 cases documented by DCI since 2010, in which children were shot whilst working close to the border between Gaza and Israel. Most of the children were shot in their legs while working outside the 300 metre buffer zone unilaterally imposed by the Israeli army.

• Detention – During the reporting period, an estimated 7,000 children, some as young as 12, have been prosecuted in Israeli military courts and held in military detention. The report highlights credible and persistent allegations of treatment that violates the absolute prohibition against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The report also documents the continued practice of imprisoning Palestinian children in detention facilities inside Israel, in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

• Human shields – During the reporting period, DCI documented 19 cases in which children were used as human shields by the Israeli army. In 18 out of the 19 cases (95 percent), the event occurred after the Israeli Supreme Court ruled the practice to be illegal, suggesting that the army is unwilling to comply with the court’s order.

• Informants – During the reporting period, DCI documented 20 cases in which attempts were made to recruit children as informants. These attempts include the use of both threats and inducements. Attempts to recruit children as informants violate international and Israeli law.

• Settler violence – Since Israel first submitted a report to the Committee, the number of illegal settlers in the West Bank has increased by approximately 50 percent, resulting in friction and violence. Since 2008, DCI has documented 106 cases in which children have been attacked by settlers. In four of these cases the children died from their injuries.

The report also includes a section on accountability and notes that out of 645 complaints filed against Israeli Security Agency interrogators alleging mistreatment since 2001, there has not been a single criminal investigation.

DCI’s full report is available on line.

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