Defence for Children International delivered a statement at the 62nd session of the UN Human Rights Council during Item 2 – Interactive Dialogue with the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
DCI brought attention to the widespread detention of Palestinian children without charge or trial. In 2026, Israeli forces escalated the detention of Palestinian children, with the Israeli Prison Service confirming at least 350 Palestinian children are in their custody. These children are detained indefinitely based on “secret files,” and their arbitrary detention is frequently renewed at the last minute, a deliberate practice that inflicts severe psychological torture.
DCI highlighted the widespread use of administrative detention, deprivation of liberty without charge or trial, inhumane treatment, and incommunicado detention in violation of minimum international standards, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
DCI urged member states to:
- Demand the immediate release of all Palestinian children in Israeli detention centres, military bases, and prisons;
- Demand unrestricted access for lawyers and human rights organisations to meet with child prisoners and call to reverse the Israeli-instituted suspension of family visits; and
- Use all available means to demand Israeli authorities to uphold Palestinian children’s rights as outlined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which the State of Israel has ratified.