About

The No Way to Treat a Child campaign seeks to challenge and end Israel's prolonged military occupation of Palestinians by exposing widespread and systematic ill-treatment of Palestinian children in the Israeli military detention system. It is a joint project of Defense for Children International - Palestine and American Friends Service Committee.

OUR STORY

Palestinian children have the right to a safe and just future. We believe the Canadian government must use all available means to pressure relevant Israeli authorities to end the detention and abuse of Palestinian children.

Read Our Story

VISION AND MISSION

The No Way to Treat a Child campaign is committed to securing a just and viable future for Palestinian children living in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and envisions a world where all children attain rights in accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international standards.

The No Way to Treat a Child campaign implements an integrative approach that incorporates the use of the international human rights framework and movement building to advance the rights and protection of Palestinian children.

The No Way to Treat a Child campaign seeks to challenge and end Israel’s prolonged military occupation of Palestinians by organizing and supporting an extensive network of people demanding immediate protections for Palestinian children held in Israeli military detention where ill-treatment and torture is widespread, systematic, and institutionalized.

THE ISSUES

Palestinian children in the West Bank, like adults, face arrest, prosecution, and imprisonment under an Israeli military detention system that denies them basic rights.

Since 1967, Israel has operated two separate legal systems in the same territory. In the occupied West Bank, Israeli settlers are subject to the civilian and criminal legal system whereas Palestinians live under military law.

Israel applies civilian criminal law to Palestinian children in East Jerusalem. No Israeli child comes into contact with the military courts.

Israel has the dubious distinction of being the only country in the world that systematically prosecutes between 500 and 700 children in military courts each year. Ill-treatment in the Israeli military detention system remains “widespread, systematic, and institutionalized throughout the process,” according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) report Children in Israeli Military Detention Observations and Recommendations.

Defense for Children International - Palestine collected affidavits from 429 West Bank children detained between 2012 and 2015 that show three-quarters of them endured some form of physical violence following arrest. In 97 percent of the cases, children had no parent present during the interrogation or access to legal counsel. Israeli police also did not properly inform them of their rights in 84 percent of the cases.

Recent amendments to Israeli military law concerning children have had little to no impact on their treatment during the first 24 to 48 hours after an arrest, when most of the ill-treatment occurs at the hands of Israeli soldiers, police, and the security service.

RECOMMENDATIONS

In no circumstance should children be detained or prosecuted under the jurisdiction of military courts. However, as a minimum safeguard while Palestinian children living under Israeli military occupation continue to be arrested and prosecuted within the Israeli military court system, Israeli authorities must respect and ensure basic due process rights and the absolute prohibition against torture and ill-treatment. From the moment of arrest, operations and procedures must be carried out in accordance with international juvenile justice standards, specifically the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, including:

Detention must only be used as a last resort, and only for the shortest appropriate time;
Children must not be subjected to physical or psychological violence;
Children must have access to legal consultation and parents prior to and during interrogations;
Children must only be arrested during daylight hours;
Children must be properly informed of their right to silence;
Children must not be blindfolded or painfully restrained;
Children must not be subjected to coercive force or threats;
All interrogations must be audio-visually recorded;
Any incriminating evidence obtained during interrogation where a child was not properly and effectively informed of his or her right to silence must be excluded by the military courts;
Any statement made as a result of torture or ill-treatment must be excluded as evidence in any proceeding;
The practice of using solitary confinement on children in Israeli military detention, whether in pretrial detention for interrogation purposes or as a form of punishment, must be stopped immediately and the prohibition must be enshrined in law;
The practice of using administrative detention orders against Palestinian children must stop immediately and the prohibition must be enshrined in law;
All credible allegations of torture and ill-treatment must be thoroughly and impartially investigated in accordance with international standards, and perpetrators brought promptly to justice; and
Children must not be transferred out of the West Bank in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

CANADIAN CAMPAIGN LEADERSHIP

The No Way to Treat a Child - Canada campaign is coordinated by Defense for Children International - Palestine, and includes a network of autonomous organizations committed to shared decision making to influence Canada-based audiences and decision makers in an effort to end Israeli military occupation and secure a just and viable future for Palestinian children living in the Occupied Palestinian Territory where all children attain rights in accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international standards.

In the United States? For information on the U.S.-based No Way to Treat a Child campaign, visit www.nowaytotreatachild.org

About Defense for Children International - Palestine

Defense for Children International - Palestine is an independent, local Palestinian child rights organization based in Ramallah dedicated to defending and promoting the rights of children living in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. For over 25 years, we have investigated, documented and pursued accountability for grave human rights violations against children; held Israeli and Palestinian authorities accountable to universal human rights principles; and advocated at the international and national levels to advance access to justice and protection for children. We also provide direct legal aid to children in distress. For more information visit www.dci-palestine.org.

CANADIAN CAMPAIGN NATIONAL PARTNERS

Amnesty International – Canada
Canadian Friends of Sabeel (CFOS)
Canadian Friends Service Committee (CFSC)
Canadian Unitarians for Social Justice (CUSJ)
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME)
Catholics for Justice and Peace in the Holy Land
Christian Peacemaker Teams - Ontario
Independent Jewish Voices - Canada
Just Peace Advocates / Mouvement pour une Paix Juste (JPA/MPJ)
Mennonite Central Committee Canada (MCC Canada)
The United Church of Canada (UCC)
United Network for Justice and Peace in Palestine & Israel (UNJPPI)

CANADIAN CAMPAIGN REGIONAL & LOCAL PARTNERS

Amnesty International – Canada (Kelowna Chapter)
British Columbia Teachers' Federation (BCTF)
Canada Palestine Association - Vancouver, BC
Canadian Union of Public Employees - British Columbia (CUPE-BC)
Canadians Arabs and Jews for a Just Peace - Halifax, NS
Justice for Palestinians - Calgary, AB
Law Union - Osgoode Hall Law School - Toronto, ON
Oakville Palestinian Rights Association (OPRA)
Palestine Solidarity - St John's, NL
Palestine Study Group - Vernon, BC
Palestinian and Jewish Unity (PAJU) - Montreal, QC
Palestinian Canadian Congress
People for Peace - London, ON
Student Christian Movement - Toronto, ON
Students for Justice in Palestine - Ryerson University - Toronto, ON
United Jewish People's Order/Winchevsky Community - Toronto, ON
Working Group for Palestinian Solidarity - Sudbury, ON
Zatoun / Beit Zatoun

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Homepage photo credit: Wisam Hashlamoun / Flash90