New York, June 22 (SANA) The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) warned Monday that Palestinian children in the occupied territories face a dire future as human rights defenders and humanitarian organizations are forced to halt or scale back their work due to pressure and restrictions.
The committee condemned in the strongest terms Israeli occupation‘s recent repressive tactics, including labeling human rights defenders and civil society organizations as “terrorists,” according to a statement carried by UN News.
The committee said these practices have been accompanied by military raids, travel bans, personal financial sanctions, threats of arrest, destruction of records, and even threats of secondary sanctions against partners who support their work, making it increasingly impossible for these organizations to operate safely or protect the children and families who depend on their services.
“For more than three decades, these organizations have played a vital role in defending Palestinian children, including in the Israeli military courts, and in documenting grave violations against Palestinian children at the hands of Israeli forces,” the committee said. “Without them, Palestinian children will be even less protected, and violations of their rights risk continuing with impunity”.
The committee called on Israel to immediately lift all restrictions and obstacles facing child rights defenders and humanitarian organizations in the occupied Palestinian territories, and urged the international community to use all available means to hold Israeli authorities accountable for attacks and repression targeting Palestinian human rights defenders.
“Despite grave risks and limited resources, child rights defenders have continued to stand with Palestinian children and families in extraordinarily dangerous conditions,” the committee said. “They must be protected, not punished”.
The warning comes as Palestinian children in Gaza and the West Bank continue to suffer severe rights violations, including killing, detention and displacement — practices that amount to war crimes, according to the committee, amid the international community‘s continued failure to provide adequate protection or hold perpetrators accountable.
KhA
