Ref: 50/2013

  The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) submitted a shadow report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child in July 2012, for consideration during the Committee’s review of Israel’s second to fourth periodic reports, which took place in June 2013. The Committee evaluated Israel’s compliance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), to which it is a State Party.

In its report PCHR notes that Israel has failed to extend the protections required by the CRC to the children of Palestine. PCHR echoes the concerns of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict who, on 26 April 2012, noted the high number of children, in particular Palestinian children, who continue to be affected by the on-going conflict.

Israel is currently failing to respect, protect and ensure the human rights of the children of the Gaza Strip. PCHR’s shadow report is not intended to be comprehensive, but rather focuses on the most serious violations of the Convention at this time, which relate to: detention; the right to health; right to education; and attacks on children. The report includes an outline of the violations, supplemented by photos and affidavits from victims and witnesses to help illustrate the current rights violations facing children in the Gaza Strip.

 Israel’s arrest of children in the ‘buffer zone’ of the Gaza Strip and their subsequent detention is a violation of Article 37 of the Convention of the Rights of the Child. Furthermore, Israel is failing to fulfill its duty as the Occupying Power to provide a safe and clean environment for the children of the Gaza Strip, which has a subsequent negative impact on the health of Gaza’s children in violation of Article 24 of the Convention. Israel’s military attacks against school buildings not only prevent children from gaining a proper education, but also have a negative effect on the mental health of school children, in violation of Articles 24 and 27 of the Convention. Finally, illegal attacks launched by Israeli forces against the Gaza Strip have a significant effect on children, resulting in significant death and injury.

 The concluding observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child regarding Israel’s compliance with the Convention can be found here.