[GENEVA, 23 March 2007] - John Dugard, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories (OPT), told delegates that children are bearing the brunt of the troubles in the OPT, with child education, health, physical safety and freedom especially affected. While emphasising his mandate is to examine human rights violations committed by Israel in the OPT, Mr Dugard also lamented the militarisation of Israeli society and the distress caused to Israeli children by compulsory military service. He said his work within human rights in the OPT often resulted in a gravitation towards children, since they are affected disproportionately by the occupation. In terms of physical harm, children are often the “collateral damage” resulting from Israel’s favoured tactic of targeted assassination. They are also at greater risk since children tend to stray into harmful situations, can get injured or killed while playing, and are used by soldiers as human shields. Since Israel defines a child as being under the age of 16, many “children” as defined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child are detained for political activities such as participating in protests and throwing stones, Mr Dugard said. More than 300 children are currently detained, some of whom may have been exposed to torture such as electric shocks, exposure to loud noise and food deprivation. Schools are often in the firing line, exemplified by the case of a young girl killed by a sniper while at school, and Palestinian children grow up with the sense there is no safety, even at school. Mr Dugard noted schools may be seized by Israeli soldiers for use as military bases; he recently visited such a school which had been trashed and vandalised once the military left. Regarding health, clinics are destroyed, medicine is elusive, and vaccination is difficult to obtain and organise because of breaks in schooling and other disruptions. Ninety per cent of the population in Gaza and sixty per cent in the West Bank are dependant on food aid, resulting in high levels of malnutrition in children. High unemployment leads to poverty and is linked to violence within the family. Mr. Dugard said children had repeatedly told him they just want to lead a "normal life". Mr Dugard also noted that within Israel, suicide bombings have killed or impacted children disproportionately, while Quassam rockets have landed into Israeli schools. However, he believes the militarisation of youth has had the biggest impact on Israeli children, and he deliberately referred to Israeli soldiers as boys and girls instead of men and women. Their lives are traumatised as a result of compulsory service, while those who refuse to serve are sent to prison, he said.
Child Rights Caucus: Morning briefing with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories
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