NGO Monitor Analysis (Special Release) 31 March 2004

Abuse of Palestinian Children

The use of children in the conflict is a clear violation of the most basic of human rights, yet most major human rights NGOs, including Human Rights Watch, EMHRN, Oxfam, etc. responded to the abuse of Palestinian children for terror with deafening silence. Even those organizations dedicated specifically to the protection of children, such as Save the Children (www.savethechildren.org), did not condemn these violations.

Of the major international human rights organizations, only Amnesty International issued a press release on 24 March claiming that the organization “has repeatedly condemned suicide bombings and other attacks against civilians by Palestinian armed groups as crimes against humanity. Using children to carry out or assist in armed attacks of any kind is an abomination. We call on the Palestinian leadership to publicly denounce these practices.” The statement continued: “Palestinian armed groups, including Hamas, Islamic Jihad and al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, must put an immediate end to the use or involvement of any kind of children in armed activity.”

Local human rights organizations B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights – Israel (PHR-I) did, however, issue press releases. B’Tselem, in a press release issued on 16 March stated that “using a child to transport explosives is in and of itself a war crime. The intentional harming of civilians must cease. Children must be kept out of the cycle of violence (italics added).” PHR-I also issued a detailed statement jointly with two Palestinian NGOs -- the Gaza Community Mental Health Program (GCMHP) and Defence for Children International / Palestine Section (DCI / PS).

However, while condemning the use of a Palestinian child to carry explosives, these highly politicized groups also condemned “the Israeli Occupation for using him in their propaganda”. This statement is further evidence of the deeply politicized nature of PHR-I’s claims to focus on universal human rights, as documented at http://ngo-monitor.org/editions/v1n01/v1n01-1.htm . After the second incident, PHR-I issued a press statement on 24 March stating that the organization viewed “the use of children in the armed conflict as illegal and immoral, and condemns such actions.” It also expressed “total condemnation of Palestinian militant actions that inflict harm on Israeli citizens, of whom many are children.”