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Summary: A compilation of extracts featuring child-rights issues from the reports submitted to the second Universal Periodic Review. There are extracts from the 'National Report', the 'Compilation of UN Information' and the 'Summary of Stakeholders' Information'. Also included is the list of accepted and rejected recommendations. Israel - 2nd Cycle - 2013 Scroll to: Accepted and Rejected Recommendations No report has yet been submitted. In 2010, the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) recommended that Israel ratify the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction, 1997, and the Convention on Cluster Munitions, 2008.i 18. CAT was concerned over insufficient measures to protect and prevent the harm and deaths of Palestinian civilians of the Gaza Strip caused as a result of the Israeli military operation Cast Lead.ii CRC expressed similar concerns.iii CRC was concerned by the practice whereby Palestinian children were used as human shields and informants and urged Israel to ensure strict compliance with humanitarian law.iv 30. In 2009, the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers sent a communication regarding the legal foundations and practices of the military justice system applied to Palestinians in the OPT. The Special Rapporteur regretted that the response from Israel had not addressed the concerns of jurisdiction by military courts over civilians not performing military functions or the concerns about the scope of the applicability of Military Order 378, especially when it related to minors.v 31. The HR Committee was concerned at differences in the juvenile justice system operating under Israeli legislation and that under military orders in the West Bank.vi CAT remained concerned at the differing definitions of a child in Israel, where legal age is attained at the age of 18, and in the occupied Palestinian territories, where legal age is attained at 16, recommending that Military order No. 132 be brought into line with international standards.vii CRC urged Israel to: rescind Military Orders Nos. 378 and 1591; never hold criminal proceedings against children in military courts and not subject children to administrative detention; and guarantee that juvenile justice standards are applied and that trials be conducted in a prompt and impartial manner, in accordance with minimum fair trial standards.viii 64. CEDAW was concerned that discrepancies remained in the infant and maternal mortality rates of Jewish, Israeli Arab and Bedouin communities; and that restrictions on movement in the OPT had had a negative impact on women’s health.ix 65. CERD was concerned about the existence of two education systems: one in Hebrew and one in Arabic.x 66. In 2010, the Special Rapporteur on the right to education sent a communication concerning the impact of the blockade on the school system in the Gaza Strip,xi to which Israel provided a detailed reply.xii 67. CESCR was concerned at restrictions on the movement of Palestinian children in the OPT, harassment by settlers of children and teachers on their way to and from school, attacks on educational facilities, and sub-standard school infrastructure.xiii 68. CEDAW recommended reducing the drop-out rates of Israeli Arab and Bedouin girls and increasing their numbers at institutions of higher education.xiv The Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression called on Israel to refrain from interfering with the content of textbooks used in Palestinian schools in East Jerusalem and to ensure unrestricted cultural activities.xv CESCR recommended that Israel ensure the inclusive education of children with disabilities.xvi CEDAW expressed concern about the disadvantages faced by female migrant workers, and the policy by which migrant workers who give birth must leave with their babies within three months of the birth or send their babies out of Israel so as to safeguard their work permits.xvii CRC urged Israel to ensure that any definition of terrorist crimes is brought into line with international norms.xviii The HR Committee and CEDAW reiterated that the view of Israel that the Convention is not applicable in the OPT is contrary to the views of treaty bodies and also of the International Court of Justice, which have all noted that obligations under international human rights as well as humanitarian law apply to all persons brought under the jurisdiction or effective control of a State party, and have stressed the applicability of the obligations of Israel under international human rights conventions to the OPT.xix CATxx, CERDxxi, CESCRxxii and CRCxxiii made similar comments. ICJ indicated that Israel has failed to submit its initial periodic report under the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Children the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, due in 2010. It further noted that Israel is due to provide additional information requested by the Human Rights Committee in 2011.xxiv AI was concerned that torture and other ill-treatment continue to be carried out during arrest and interrogation, including on children. AI noted that the Supreme Court ruled in 2009 that psychological pressure, exerted by making threats against detainees’ family members, was forbidden. The ruling however permits the use of “physical interrogation methods” in “ticking time-bomb” situations, to escape criminal liability under the “defence of necessity”, resulting in impunity for ISA officers.xxv AI called on Israel to: investigate all allegations of torture or other ill-treatment promptly, thoroughly and impartially by an independent body, to bring to justice anyone found responsible for abuses, and ensure reparations to victims, as agreed by Israel in the previous UPR; legislate an absolute ban on torture by annulling the “defence of necessity” in “ticking-bomb scenarios” and; declare evidence obtained under duress as inadmissible in court.xxvi. JS3-PHROC referred to reports of ill-treatment against Palestinian child detainees, in some cases amounting to torture. Despite recent amendments to the military orders, which created a juvenile military court and purported to raise the age of majority from 16 to 17 in military courts, it noted that there has been no discernable beneficial impact on the treatment of children during the first 48 hours following their arrest.xxvii Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children (GIEACPC) noted that corporal punishment is inflicted on children in penal institutions within Israel as well as in the occupied territories.xxviii GIEACPC hoped the Council will note the achievement of law reform to prohibit corporal punishment and recommend Israel to implement the law and eliminate corporal punishment in practice.xxix 53. ACPG-XXIII reported that Palestinian children in South Hebron Hills go to school escorted by the Israeli military because of repeated attacks perpetrated by Israeli settlers.xxx ACPG-XXIII noted that the right to education of children in Jinba, Al Fakhit and Susiya will be denied if Israeli authorities follow up on a demolition order of February 2012.xxxiIr Amim indicated that neglect of the Arab education system in Jerusalem has resulted in severe shortage and inadequate facilities, and high dropout rates.xxxii Mossawa Center called on Israel to ensure equal enjoyment of the right to education, irrespective of national belonging.xxxiii JS4 called on Israel to comply with CESCR recommendations and ensure the right to education for Palestinian children in OPT.xxxiv Accepted and Rejected Recommendations - to follow
Tuesday 29 January 2013, 2:30 pm - 6:00 pm