[31 March 2012] – Today, DCI-Palestine submitted a report to the UN Committee against Torture. The purpose of the report is to assist the Committee in its preparation of a List of Issues prior to the review of the State of Israel’s fifth Periodic Report under the Convention against Torture in 2013. All states that have ratified the Convention against Torture are reviewed by this independent UN Committee every four years to assess compliance.

In its report to the Committee, DCI-Palestine continues to raise concerns about the treatment of children being held in Israel’s military detention system. These concerns include:

• The extensive use of night time raids to arrest children as young as 12 years;
• Persistent and credible reports of the systematic ill-treatment of children in violation of the Convention. In some cases the treatment may amount to torture;
• The questioning of children in the absence of a parent, any legal advice or visual recording of the interrogation;
• The continued detention of children in facilities inside Israel, in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention;
• The lack of fair and impartial complaint mechanisms; and
• The discriminatory manner in which the law is applied to Palestinian children.

The report relies on the findings of a recent study conducted by DCI-Palestine which analysed 311 sworn testimonies collected from children during the past four years. The key findings of the study are presented below:
 

DCI's report to the UN Committee against Torture is available on line.

Related links:
•    DCI-Palestine – Bound, Blindfolded and Convicted: Children held in military detention
•    UN Committee against Torture – Concluding Observations, Israel - 2009