7 July 2011 - On the occasion of the International Day in Support of the Victims of Torture, children from all over the West Bank and Jerusalem gathered to demand Israeli Authorities to put an end to child detention and ill-treatment. Israeli Authorities continue to violate international laws by detaining children and prosecuting them under the Israeli Military Court system. 700 children are being detained in Israeli prisons on a yearly basis, which sums up to a total of 7000 children over the past ten years.
During the arrests, which often take place in the middle of the night, children are hand cuffed and taken away from their parents. According to children’s testimonies recorded by DCI, they are frequently physically and mentally abused. Not only does this cause great psychological distress for the children and their families, they are also being stigmatized when they try to re-integrate in society.
“All physical and mental torture in the prisons must end. All detainees should be treated equally regardless of political affiliation. Ex-detainees should get assistance to finish their studies and to find a job. We should help them rehabilitate and integrate in their community.” With their messages, ex-detainee children asked Israel to end the detention of children under the age of 18 and urged the Palestinian Authorities to assist them when they re-integrate in society. They asked for specialized rehabilitation centres and human rights lawyers to defend them. The event was attended by the Minister of Ex-Detainees Issa Qaraqe’, who addressed the children’s concerns in his closing speech.
The detention of children is in contradiction with article 37 of the Convention of the Rights of the Child, ratified by Israel, which explicitly prohibits unlawful arrest of children and gives children the right to legal assistance and contact with their family. It also violates article 76 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, stating that persons should be detained and serve sentences within the occupied country. However children are often being transported outside of the West Bank, making it impossible for their family to visit them.
Until now there are no audiovisual records or reports of the interrogations of children. The Israeli authorities have entered a reservation to Article 20 of the Convention Against Torture, which would allow for the Committee Against Torture to enter the country and investigate complaints. Ill-treatment in Israeli prisons and interrogation centres is wide-spread, systematic and institutionalized.
The children brought their messages on stage in an event organized by Save the Children, DCI-PS, YMCA, Juzoor, Ma’an Development Agency and the Palestinian Counseling Center.