UN News Service Without human rights support, Palestinian children will be even less protected. UN Committee on the Rights of the Child: Due to pressure on human rights defenders, Palestinian children are deprived of support Human rights
Palestinian children in the occupied territories – Gaza and the West Bank – are being deprived of any protection and support as human rights and humanitarian organizations are forced to completely curtail or reduce their activities under pressure from the Israeli authorities. Experts from the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child stated this on Monday.
The committee strongly condemned Israel’s “repressive tactics”, including the designation of human rights defenders and civil society organizations as terrorist entities. Experts say such accusations are accompanied by searches, travel bans, personal financial sanctions, threats of arrest, destruction of documentation and threats of secondary sanctions against partners who support their work. All this makes the work of human rights organizations unsafe and effectively deprives children and their families of vital support. According to the Committee, many organizations providing assistance to children are forced to cease work due to constant harassment, threats, bans and smear campaigns. “For more than three decades, these organizations have played a key role in the protection of Palestinian children, including representation in Israeli military courts and documenting serious violations,” they emphasized experts. The Committee warned that without human rights support, Palestinian children will find themselves even less protected and their rights will continue to be violated with impunity. The UN Committee called on Israel to lift all restrictions that impede the work of human rights defenders and humanitarian organizations in Gaza and the West Bank, and to ensure that they can operate safely and independently. The international community is encouraged to use all available mechanisms to holding Israeli authorities accountable for their pressure on Palestinian human rights defenders, and putting the rights and lives of Palestinian children at the center of international efforts. “Despite serious risks and limited resources, children’s rights defenders continue to stand alongside Palestinian children and families in exceptionally dangerous conditions,” the experts said. “They need to be protected, not punished.”