June 14 , 2001

Statement Presented By Mohammad Abu-Harthieh/Al-Haq, on behalf of Arab NGO’s to the Third Substantive Session of the Preparatory Committee for the Special Session of the General Assembly for the Follow-Up to the World Summit for Children

The Palestinian occupied territories are subject to serious Human Rights Violations. These violations exacerbated the lives of Palestinian children who have been for many decades deprived from their basic rights provided for in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, let alone their right of return to their country.

The following are the most flagrant violations of the right of children that have occurred since the beginning of the recent uprising, the Intifada that started on 28^th of September 2000:

1.      More than 140 Palestinian children, under the age of 18 years of age, were killed by the Israeli occupation forces.

2.      More than 5000 children have been wounded causing permanent disabilities in 15 % of them.

3.      Collective punishment (isolation of the West Bank from the Gaza Strip, towns from villages and camps, cutting all links between different regions under a blockade, affected deeply the basic right of those children to education, health care, security and social and economic stability.

4.      Indiscriminate shelling of the populated areas and the use of tanks and military planes to bombard towns, villages and camps, resulted in the destruction of schools, hospitals, kindergartens, trees and the environment.

5.      The Occupation forces have paralyzed the economic activity and severed the livelihood of families. This led to the increase of the unemployment rate  - up to 70%, therefore threatening the collapse of the National economy, which itself undermines the capability of the families to meet the needs of their children, their right to food and primary health care.

6.      The lack of income among thousands of families for long months has increased the rate of people living below poverty line to 42%. This may lead to serious malnutrition that prevents the proper development of the children.

7.      The Israeli military checkpoints prevented many ambulances from evacuating patients and pregnant women, causing many deliveries at check points, which culminated in the death of a female child for not being able to reach a hospital.

8.      The ongoing Israeli violence, aggression and shelling left deep impact on Palestinian children , of which the psychological closure requires long term treatment

9.      At the present time about 160 children are held in Israeli jails and detention centers after being  prosecuted, under conditions that are not even close to the minimum standards rules of the treatment of children deprived of their freedom

The International community is required to take all efficient actions and measures to force the Israeli government to do the following:

1.      Putting an end immediately to all types of abuse to which Palestinian children are victims and to the violation of their rights to protection, education and healthcare.

2.      Providing the children with the maximum international protection in all aspects.

3.      Immediate cessation of all forms of violence, killing and destruction of houses and crops in cities and camps.

4.      Immediate lifting of the blockade and the closure, putting an end to the curfew and indiscriminante detentions as a first step towards eliminating the occupation, and securing to all children the chance to live in security, stability and dignity.

The embargo imposed on Iraq for more than ten years has had disastrous consequences on children and they constitute serious violation to the basic rights of the child as provided for in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, most notably their right to survival, development, education, health care and food. The monthly death toll among children under 5 years of age is 9,000 children and ten 10,000 for those above that age. The sanctions and the use of internationally prohibited weapons have resulted in the spread of mutilation, disabilities, chronic as well as incurable diseases. Iraqi children are also deprived of blood serum, medications and medical equipment necessary for providing them with the basic health services. The long –imposed and still ongoing sanctions have led to the deterioration in the standard of living which had a direct impact on children by stripping them of the most basic conditions essential to secure life development and well being. Despite the fact that international bodies confirm that the embargo and the sanctions should not jeopardize the best interest of the child. This tragic situation shows the whole world that the children are the first victims of the sanctions imposed on states; and this challenges the international community to strive for the immediate lifting of the embargo imposed on Iraq and all other states. The International community, additionally, has to work to prevent the use of the collective sanctions practice, of which the people, especially, children and women, pay the heavy toll.