Defence for Children International – DCI Palestine – July 30, 2010

Photo Palestinian child in Gaza collects water.

On 29 July 2010, the UN Human Rights Committee (the Committee) issued Concluding Observations after reviewing the State of Israel’s compliance with the Convention on Civil and Political Rights (CCPR) earlier this month. Compliance by parties to the Convention is reviewed every four years by the Committee, which consists of 18 independent and internationally recognised experts. During its 99th Session in July, the Committee also considered compliance with the Convention by three other states under the periodic review process.

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Open letter, 29 July 2010

Photo Prison window on cracked wall.

following letter was sent to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on 26 July 2010:

As human rights advocates and representatives of nongovernmental organizations working to promote internationally recognized human rights standards in the US and around the world, we welcomed the important message you delivered to the Community of Democracies in Krakow on 3 July 2010. We wholeheartedly agree that civil society is an essential element in a free nation and plays an important role in identifying and eradicating injustices. As you rightly noted, it was through the critically important work of human rights activists and civil society that the US was able to be put on the path of racial equality.

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Al Jazeera report May 31 2010.

Photo ActiveStills Palestinian family walks along in Israeli occupied Palestine.

An international children’s rights charity has said it has evidence that Palestinian children held in Israeli custody have been subjected to sexual abuse in an effort to extract confessions from them.

The Geneva-based Defence for Children International (DCI) has collected 100 sworn affadavits from Palestinian children who said they were mistreated by their Israeli captors.

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guardian.co.uk by Yousef Munayyer Friday 21 May 2010

Photo Palestinian boy views photos of Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli jails.

When will there be a Palestinian Gandhi? I’m often asked this question by people who sympathise with Palestinian suffering but are uncomfortable associating themselves with resistance movements that they see as violent or terrorist.

The reality of course is that Palestinian nonviolent resisters are not only active today but have a long and storied history in the Palestinian struggle. The real question is: why haven’t we heard about them?

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Adri Nieuwhof and Bangani Ngeleza, Electronic Intifada 19 May 2010

Photo South African carried away after being injured by police at anti-apartheid demonstration in Cape Province, 1985. (UN Photo)

Two weeks after Israel imposed a travel ban on him, Ameer Makhoul, a well-respected Palestinian leader holding Israeli citizenship, was kidnapped from his home on 6 May in the middle of the night. The persecution of Makhoul brings back memories of the South Africa apartheid regime: he has been held incommunicado and was not allowed access to his lawyer for two weeks; a court order prohibited publication of any information on the case against Makhoul for 90 days; and the so-called evidence justifying the “security charges” against Makhoul remains secret. During the South Africa anti-apartheid movement, similar tactics were used against those advocating for freedom and equal rights, who were accused of terrorism and having links with the Soviet Union.

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Defence for Children International – Palestine May 18, 2010

Photo Sarah Van den Elsken Israeli military zone surrounding colony in Palestine.

On 18 May 2010, DCI-Palestine submitted 14 cases to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture for investigation. The submission relates to the sexual assault, or threat of sexual assault, of Palestinian children at the hands of Israeli soldiers, interogators and police between January 2009 and April 2010. The ages of the children range from 13 to 16 years.

DCI-Palestine is becoming increasingly alarmed at reports contained in sworn affidavits received from children that they are being subjected to sexual assault, or threat of sexual assault, in order to obtain confessions.

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Mel Frykberg, Electronic Intifada 7 May 2010, Ramallah

Photo: Ahmed Sabah was deported to the Gaza Strip from the West Bank.

Several Palestinians have set up a protest tent in no-man’s land in the northern Gaza Strip, near the Erez border crossing into Israel, as they protest their deportation from the Israeli occupied West Bank into Gaza where Hamas authorities have refused them entry.

Tens of thousands of other Palestinians face a possibly similar predicament in the near future. This follows a sweeping new Israeli military order which allows for the expulsion of Palestinians or foreigners whom Israel considers to be in the West Bank illegally as “infiltrators.”

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Haaretz by Amira Hass. 15/02/2010

Photo Palestinian child next to fruit stall in the streets of Jerusalem.

Something about 12-year-old Bassam caused two Israelis to smile. Two Palestinians noticed, but did not remember their smiles as being disparaging or arrogant. On the contrary. The Palestinians regarded the smiles as a rare moment in which two Israelis – and not just any Israelis, but military judges – realized how ridiculous the situation was.

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letter from Bil’in’s Abdallah Abu Rahmah was shared from his prison cell to his lawyers

Photo: Barbed wire sky in Israeli prison.

Dear Friends and Supporters, It has been two months now since I was handcuffed, blindfolded and taken from my home. Today news has reached Ofer Military Prison that the apartheid wall on Bil’in’s land will finally be moved and construction has begun on the new route. This will return half of the land that was stolen from our village. For those of us in Ofer, imprisoned for our protest against the wall, this victory makes the suffering of being here easier to bear. After actively resisting the theft of our land by the Israeli apartheid wall and settlements every week for five years now, we long to be standing along side our brothers and sisters to mark this victory and the fifth anniversary of our struggle.

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Come Celebrate five years of the Popular Resistance in Bil’in!

Saturday, February 6, 8pm
Kaza Maza 4629 avenue du Parc
Fundraising evening featuring
live music, slideshows, theater and a poster exhibit
Share a piece of Fifth Anniversary Cake!

Sunday, February 7, 1pm
Demonstration in Solidarity with Bil’in
métro Mont-Royal plaza

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