UN Secretary General's Report on Children in Armed Conflict
[28 June 2023] – On 27 June 2023, the UN released the Annual Report of the Secretary-General on Children in Armed Conflict. The report includes trends regarding the impact of armed conflict on children in 2022. Conflicts on the agenda of the Security Council and covered by the report include: Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, Israel and the State of Palestine, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Myanmar, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic and Yemen.
According to the report the highest number of grave violations were verified in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Israel and the State of Palestine, Somalia, Syria, Ukraine, Afghanistan and Yemen.
In relation to Palestinian children held in Israeli detention the report notes that: "the UN verified the detention of 852 Palestinian children for alleged security offences by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem (527), including 17 held under administrative detention. The United Nations received the testimonies of 82 children who reported ill-treatment by Israeli forces while in detention."
This year’s report again omits to mention that over two-thirds of Palestinian child detainees are transferred out of the occupied West Bank and detained in prisons located in Israel [1] in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention and Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.[2] Although classified as a war crime, the Secretary-General's report has omitted to mention these transfers since 2013. However, the Secretary General's report does give extensive coverage to the unlawful transfer of Ukrainian children by Russia. While the purpose of transfer in these cases differs, there is evidence suggesting that Palestinian children transferred to Israel are then subjected to treatment in violation of the UN Convention Against Torture. While the transfers in both cases are unlawful, there is no evidence in the Secretary General's report that Ukrainian children are being subjected to violations of the Convention Against Torture post transfer.
Based on current data provided by the Israeli Prison Service, it is estimated that between 350-700 Palestinian children are unlawfully transferred each year, or nearly 40,000 children since June 1967. The Secretary General's report verified the transfer of 46 Ukrainian children to the Russian Federation in 2022.
No explanation has been provided by the Secretary General for this omission.
Statements by the Secretary General on the unlawful transfer of Palestinian children
While data published by the Israeli Prison Service indicates that the long-term trend in the unlawful transfer of Palestinian children from the occupied West Bank to prisons in Israel has been rising for at least a decade, the Secretary General has not mentioned this violation since 2013. As already noted there is evidence suggesting that Palestinian children transferred to Israel are then subjected to treatment in violation of the UN Convention Against Torture.
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Year
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Statement's by the Secretary General on the unlawful transfer of Palestinian children
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Official Israeli Data - % of children transferred
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Children from the West Bank were reportedly transferred to prisons inside Israel in contravention of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War.
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According to the Israeli Prison Service, child detainees were transferred to prisons inside Israel during the reporting period. Such transfers contravene article 76 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
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| 2013 | A higher percentage of children were detained in prison facilities inside Israel (76%, compared with 63% in 2012) with at least three out of four children being transferred outside the occupied Palestinian territory in contravention of the Fourth Geneva Convention. | - |
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Omitted
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48%
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Omitted
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48%
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Omitted
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46%
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Omitted
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61%
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Omitted
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54%
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Omitted
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52%
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Omitted
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75%
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Omitted
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64%
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Omitted
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67%
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2023
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(Next report due in June 2024)
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71%
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Statements by the Secretary General on the ill treatment and/or torture of Palestinian children
The Secretary General's report notes that out of 6 Ukrainian boys detained by Russian armed forces, "four boys were subjected to ill treatment and/or torture." However, when the same report considers the detention of 852 Palestinian children by Israeli armed forces, the words "and/or torture" were omitted. The explanation for this omission cannot be found in the evidence presented in the report. Anecdotal evidence from within the UN suggests that a number of UN agencies have, since 2014, been subjected to significant political and financial pressure, seeking to limit public statements by the UN relating to potential legal accountability in Israel/Palestine.
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Year
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Statements by the Secretary General
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116 cases were documented through affidavits. All of the 116 boys reported being subjected to cruel and degrading treatment by the Israeli security forces and police while in detention. 92% of the children interviewed reported the use of hand-ties in violation of Israeli security forces orders, 70% reported having been blindfolded, 61% reported having been beaten, 7% reported solitary confinement.
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115 cases were documented through affidavits. All 115 Palestinian boys reported being subjected to cruel and degrading ill-treatment by the Israeli forces and the police, including but not limited to the practice of blindfolding and painful restraint during arrest, transfer and interrogation; strip-searching; verbal abuse; physical violence, including beating and kicking; and threats of violence. A total of 21 boys were also held in solitary confinement for a period ranging from 1 to 20 days.
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The UN documented 107 cases of ill-treatment during arrest, transfer, interrogation and detention. All of the 107 boys reported having been subjected to cruel and degrading ill-treatment by the Israel Defense Forces and the police, including painful restraint, blindfolding, strip-searching, verbal and physical abuse, solitary confinement and threats of violence. This number represents an estimated 15 per cent of the total number of Palestinian children arrested and detained in the West Bank by Israeli security forces in 2013. 51% children reported being arrested at night.
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The UN obtained the affidavits of 122 Palestinian children from the West Bank, who had been detained by the Israeli security forces, in which they stated that they had been subjected to ill-treatment, such as beatings, being hit with sticks, being blindfolded, being kicked and being subjected to verbal abuse and threats of sexual violence.
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The United Nations and partners continued to document cases of ill- treatment of children by Israeli forces during their arrest and detention in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
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Following the resumption of the administrative detention of Palestinian children by Israeli authorities in 2015, 10 cases were documented in 2016. The UN also documented a total of 185 incidents of ill-treatment of children (175 boys, 10 girls) by Israeli forces during arrests and detention.
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The UN obtained affidavits from 162 Palestinian boys between the ages of 12 and 17 who had been detained by Israeli forces, in which they stated that they had been subjected to ill- treatment and breaches of due process. The UN also documented five cases of children held in administrative detention in 2017.
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The UN received affidavits from 127 Palestinian boys who, during interviews with the UN, reported ill- treatment and breaches of due process during their arrest, transfer and detention. The UN documented four cases of the administrative detention of Palestinian children in 2018.
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The UN received testimonies of 166 children who reported ill- treatment and breaches of due process by Israeli forces, including physical violence and one threat of sexual violence.
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87 children reported ill- treatment and breaches of due process by Israeli forces while in detention, with 83% reporting physical violence.
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85 children reported ill-treatment and breaches of due process by Israeli forces while in detention, with 75% reporting having experienced physical violence.
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The UN received the testimonies of 82 children who reported ill-treatment by Israeli forces while in detention.
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[1] According to the Israeli Prison Service, 67 percent of Palestinian child detainees were forcibly transferred out of the West Bank to prisons located inside Israel in 2022. As of March 2023, this number has increased to 70 percent.
[2] Transferring "protected persons" including detainees out of occupied territory is prohibited by Article 76 of the Fourth Geneva Convention and is classified as a war crime under Article 8(2)(vii) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. On 17 March 2023, the International Criminal Court issued warrants for two Russians allegedly responsible for transferring Ukrainian children to the Russian Federation after 1 year of occupation.
