Delivered at the General Debate on Item 7: Human Rights Situation in Palestine and Other occupied Arab Territories
On 26 March 2025, on behalf of DCI-Palestine, Defence for Children International delivered a statement during the 58th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland. The statement brings attention to the wrongful detention of Palestinian children who are abused, neglected, and starved while imprisoned.
There are 112 Palestinian children, all boys, detained in Israeli prisons and a total of 300 Palestinian children detained by the Israeli military as of 31st December 2024. However, these numbers only represent the number of children in Israeli prisons and do not represent how many Palestinian children are detained in Israeli military installations, such as the Sde Teiman detention camp in southern Israel.
Israeli forces are detaining Palestinian children en masse, starving them, and carrying out vicious beatings with regularity and impunity. The international community has allowed this to happen without bestowing meaningful accountability and consequences to Israel.
We strongly urge all 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.
- Cut off the flow of weapons, technology, and financial support to the Israeli military;
- Investigate allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity, as well as support investigations by the International Criminal Court, in order to hold perpetrators accountable.
We hope that member states and the ICC collaborate to ensure the safety of Palestinian children and hold all perpetrators accountable.
Read the statement in its entirety here (in English).