The United Nations has warned that children are becoming “increasingly unprotected” as humanitarian groups and human rights defenders are forced to scale back operations in the Palestinian territories.
Many civil society and aid organizations in Gaza and the West Bank have been labeled “terrorists” by pro-Israel groups or politicians, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child said in a statement issued Monday, noting that their absence leaves children vulnerable.
“For more than three decades, these organizations have played a vital role in defending Palestinian children, including in the Israeli military courts, and in documenting grave violations against Palestinian children at the hands of Israeli forces,” the committee said.
“Without them, Palestinian children will be even less protected, and violations of their rights risk continuing with impunity,” it added.
Issued by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the statement noted that tactics used to delegitimize these human rights groups include “military raids, travel bans, personal financial sanctions, threats of arrest, destruction of records, and even threats of secondary sanctions against partners who support their work.”
The committee said this made it “increasingly impossible for these organizations to operate safely or protect the children and families who turn to them for help.”
The committee urged the international community to hold the Israeli authorities accountable for attacks against Palestinian human rights defenders. It also urged the Israeli regime to lift restrictions faced by humanitarian individuals and groups.
“Despite grave risks and limited resources, child rights defenders have continued to stand with Palestinian children and families in extraordinarily dangerous conditions. They must be protected, not punished,” the committee said.
The Israeli regime has significantly cracked down on humanitarian operations in Gaza since the “ceasefire” that began on October 10, banning Doctors Without Borders (MSF) after it failed to provide a list of its Palestinian staff, further depriving Palestinians in the besieged enclave of life-saving assistance.
In February this year, 17 international aid groups petitioned Israel’s Supreme Court to be allowed to continue working in the Gaza Strip and other areas in the occupied Palestinian territory. The Israeli government had planned to halt their life-saving work.
Source: www.aljazeera.com