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Nothing
much has changed for the Palestinian child who lives
in the Occupied Territories, except perhaps the greater
chance of either losing your home or becoming a dreadful
statistic. If you are a Palestinian teen, you do not
have to assert yourself in order to be treated like
an adult. Palestinian teenagers and even smaller children,
are almost always treated like adults by the Israeli
Defense Forces. The sad truth is some children have
as many equal opportunities to get shot and killed,
as an adult civilian.
Children
and adolescents are arrested just like adults and
when taken off to Israeli military prisons, are held
just like adults. Massive retaliations almost always
include Palestinian youths. While it is quite true
that in the Occupied Territories, children and teenagers
throw rocks and molotov cocktails at the Israeli soldiers,
it is also quite true that the Israeli soldiers shoot
with horrible bullets and kill them and/or drag them
off to prisons; often times without any formal charges.
The IDF does not discriminate between children and
adults and weaponry used by a child, because in theory,
it appears that all Palestinian children are assumed
born into terrorism and are treated as such.
Before
asserting that these are individual children with
real faces and real feelings, I must continue to make
a few generalizations, just as the IDF makes generalizations
about young Palestinians. The difference is: my generalizations
do not produce bruises and trauma. I understand the
threat of suicide bombers. I have experienced loss
from terrorist attacks. The strong motivation I have
in speaking out for the better changes needed in a
civil society, is with consideration of stopping the
endless cycles of violence. It is a moral obligation
to treat all children respectfully; but there are
those in Israel who need further understanding that
experience of brutality directly influences a child's
psychology and direction. What can Israel possibly
hope to gain by routinely traumatizing this generation
of Palestinian youth in name of security or peaceful
solution?
If
you are a Palestinian teen, an arrest campaign in
one particular geographical location will certainly
include you. Palestinian boys are herded along with
adult males to detentions. Young men (and young women)
ages 12 thru 18 are placed in some of the worse prison
situations confining them with adults; including militant
political prisoners and hard core criminals. While
there are non-violent Palestinians who have been jailed
for protest, there is no guarantee that a child will
be placed next to a non-violent adult in prison.
Israeli
Military prisons are a horror for children and the
people who care about them. The children come from
families that can do little but mourn their disappearance.
Without the adults who love and protect them and after
a child is further frightened physically or psychologically
or both, will that child be more willing to sign a
confession? There are many adults who would not hesitate
to sign anything in order to stop being tortured and
abused. Are Palestinian children expected to hold
onto their truths while being deprived of bathroom
or sleep? Or placed in positional tortures (shabeh)?
Is there surprise when a wretched person, either child
or adult, hopes to end their wretchedness? And after
a child's initiation into psychological and physical
abuse, does fear of a sexual assault take on an even
greater motivation for signing a confession?
Such
questions appear to need asking about children's rights
in Israeli military prisons.
With
little regard for legalities, or for the general cry
of outrage that comes from many human rights groups
(including Israeli human rights groups), DCI reports
that in the name of "security", Israel continues
to inflict harm upon the future of Palestine:
"It
has been known for 15 years, that Israel has legalized
what most human rights groups and United Nations expert
bodies including the Committee Against Torture and
the Human Rights Committee consider to be torture.
Countless affidavits from victims and reports from
monitoring groups, as well as admissions of state
officials confirm the systematic and routine torture
by Israeli state functionaries including State and
General Security Service agents. During these 15 years,
Israel gained international attention for being the
only country that legalized torture" (see: http://www.dci-pal.org,
Fact Sheet Series: Torture of Child Political Detainees)
In
1999, after much pressure from human rights groups
and decent population in Israel proper, the Israeli
Supreme Court, ruled that certain torture was illegal.
The ruling said that General Security Service Agents
do NOT have the right to shake a man and hold him
in an uncomfortable position (shabeh) and/or deprive
him of basic human functions, such as sleep. However,
after 1999 and with legal censure, Palestinian children
are still routinely subjected to beatings, sleep deprivations,
isolation, verbal abuse, tying of hands and blindfolding.
Despite
losing lawyer Daoud Dirawi, an important member of
the DCI team, to the illegal administrative detention
that he has been enduring since last February 21,
2003, DCI continues to make investigations into the
treatment of juveniles who are deemed political prisoners.
Another lawyer is currently investigating a case that
involves the psychological and physical torture of
a Palestinian boy-child, who has tried more than once
to kill himself in prison. Defence of Children International
has received previous reports of threatened sexual
abuse, usually pronounced during the extraction of
a confession during interrogations. Threat of such
a thing is a vile act by itself but now allegedly
there has been an actual incident, which took place
in Ofer Military Prison just outside of Ramallah.
A
boy of 12 years exists, who claims to have been touched
in a wrongful way and who, since then, has been so
traumatized by his imprisonment that he has been hospitalized
while attempting to end his life by drinking cleanser.
Defence of Children International is gravely concerned
for this child's safety and well being:
This
real and very frightened child is Rakan.
Rakan
was taken at a checkpoint in Sawahreh village, close
to Qeda settlement while traveling from Bethlehem
to Jericho. He was taken by Israeli soldiers to the
police station inside Ma'ale Adumim settlement and
was there threatened with electric shock. He was kept
in a solitary 2m2 cell for 13 days, after which came
his first suicide attempt just before he was taken
to Ofer Military Prison Camp.
He
made this testimony to one of the DCI lawyers and
here is his affidavit:
And
because there was no one I could talk to and I felt
incredible frightened and scared I tried to commit
suicide while being in solitary confinement. On
October 12th I was moved to Ofer military prison
camp. When I arrived the soldiers asked me to take
off my clothes and I was standing in my underwear.
Then one of the soldiers took off even my underwear
and started to use the metal detector on my naked
body. While he was doing that he used his other
hand to touch my body concentrating mainly on my
back and bottom. This continued for a while and
I was crying being terrified that something would
happen.
Shortly
after that incident, he drank cleanser and was taken
to Hadassa Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem. While
he was in the hospital he saw a psychiatrist who recommended
his immediate release or, his being taken to a better-controlled
facility. Rakan was taken to court and the judge looked
at his record, including his recent history and (military)
charges that accused him of being a militant Hamas
member. The civil judge decided immediately that Rakan
should be sent to a facility better suited for children
and he set a trial date. The military prison did NOT
respect the Judge and the trial date he gave. Nor
did they respect the DCI lawyer who tried ardently
to have this child released on bail. Another trial
date was set.
DCI
continues to respond on behalf of Rakan and has sited
International Laws:
Violation
of International Law
Regarding
the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child:
Art.
37 (a) states that "no child shall be subjected
to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment."
Art.
37 (b) states that "the arrest, detention or
imprisonment of a child shall be in conformity with
the law and shall be used only as a measure of last
resort and for the shortest appropriate period of
time."
Art.
19 states that "States Parties shall take all
appropriate legislative, administrative, social
and educational measures to protect the child from
all forms of physical or mental violence, injury
or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment
or exploitation, including sexual abuse, while in
the care of parent(s), legal guardian(s) or any
other person who has the care of the child."
Real
justice demands that those who have violated this
child be brought to justice.
No
one discredits the grave concerns that all people
feel about terror, but why must it be taught so ardently
in another form?
The
DCI lawyer involved in this case, reported that the
he tried his best to give the latest Judge an understanding
of the immediate and grave situation. He was rudely
dismissed and told sarcastically that "since
it was Ramadan" to go home and come back next
week. Defence of Children International is not unfamiliar
with this kind of rude and ethnic bias. Do you suppose
Alan
Dershowitz would be treated in such a way? Since
I am recently tempted to challenge Mr. Dershowitz
to a true perspective on the legal rights and existence
of Arab-Israelis and Palestinians, this would perhaps
be an ideal opportunity for him to observe Israeli
military justice, as well.
The
DCI lawyer will try again at the next trial date to
have this child either released, or properly held.
In the meantime, a 12 year old boy already made desperate
and wretched awaits his justice in the same situation
that compelled him to drink cleanser. Defence of Children
International asks that citizens of the world take
interest and action on behalf of the human and humane
rights of hundreds of children locked away in Israeli
prisons:
"Over
the course of 2002, draconian laws were used with
greater frequency against children, including Administrative
Detention orders which allow for detention without
published evidence and military order 1500, which
means that children can be detained for up to 12
days (previously 18) without a court appearance
or legal consultation. In 2003, these military orders
continue to be invoked against children, with around
400 arrests to end-September.
When
children are arrested they are usually taken to
adult military detention centers and interrogation
centers. There are no specialist juvenile facilities;
courts or personnel within the Israeli system apart
from Telmond prison which houses around 70 of 350
child prisoners. Frequently, we hear of cases where
children are forced to sign confessions, where they
are beaten and handcuffed, or subjected to positional
abuse, or shabeh. Meanwhile, children deprived of
their liberty are often denied access to healthcare
and education, adequate nutrition, hygiene and recreation
time. Family visits are a rare privilege due to
travel restrictions on the Palestinian population
and frequent detention within Israeli military bases
or settlements. Not surprisingly, psychosocial studies
indicate that the impact of imprisonment and the
horrific experiences suffered by child prisoners
has a significant impact on their future development
as individuals." (http://www.dci-pal.org/prisonweb/)
We
must all learn to speak out on behalf of children.
Children are our direct and indirect investment in
the future. How we treat children and how we administer
justice to them reflects our standards and what is
expected of them.
The
first time I went to the UN with that purpose in mind,
I was grievous shocked to discover a truth of the
matter:
When
I was a child, I was taught to believe in the righteousness
of my country's participation in such an organization
as the United Nations. I believed that with regards
to the tenets of freedom and human rights, the United
States' role, as "Superpower" was one of
Champion. My first day at the UN and subsequent visits,
I was told again and again, there is ONLY... ONE.....
COUNTRY with BIG enough VETO POWER to STOP and HALT
such investigations into human rights issues in the
Occupied Territories and that country was my own USA!
After
reviewing my Ambassador John Negroponte's dismal record
over such vetoes and after considering his significant
role in Honduras and the Nicaraguan Contra War, I
must wonder if anyone at the UN suppressed himself
or herself in politeness from mocking my shocked naiveté
of the situation. *
Why
would we not want to do everything that we possibly
can to bring forth truth about what goes on in the
Occupied Territories?
If
Israel has nothing to hide while accepting US Foreign
Aid, why isn’t an investigation welcomed?
And
if there is something to hide, why does Israel get
the cover of our Veto Power?
Are
we not COMPELLED by such severe and long-standing
allegations, to investigate a country that we credit
and support with vast sums of tax dollar support?
Where
is the accountability to the American Public?
The
USA should not make hesitation any where in the world
such allegations exist, but most especially, where
our foreign aid might be perceived by the entire world,
as rewarding such behavior.
On
October 30, 2003 Walid Maalouf, Senior Adviser on
Agenda Item 83: United Nations Relief and Works Agency
for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, made this
statement from the US Department of State about other
promised funds:
"The
United States, through its substantial financial
contribution to the United
Nations Relief and Works Agency, has demonstrated
its enduring support for humanitarian relief efforts
for Palestinian refugees. In the last year, the
United States committed $88 million to the regular
budget, and $31 million toward the 2002 emergency
appeal. We continue to be UNRWA’s largest single
contributor to both the regular budget and emergency
appeals. We support UNRWA’s mandate and believe
that its programs are a force for stability in the
region."
This
money will not wash clean the American Conscience
that demands clarification and balanced perspective.
Mary
La Rosa is an artist /librarian/peace activist living
close to NYC.
REFERENCES:
AMBASSADOR
JOHN NEGROPONTE *
United
States Mission to the United Nations
*Global
Concerns: Maryknoll's Global Alert (July 17, 2001)
Stop Human Rights Obstructer John Negroponte
"The
New York Times credits John Negroponte with 'carrying
out the covert strategy of the Reagan administration
to crush the Sandinista government in Nicaragua'
during his tenure as U.S. Ambassador to Honduras
from 1981 and 1985. He oversaw the growth of military
aid to Honduras from $4 million to $77.4 million
a year. In early 1984, two U.S. mercenaries, Thomas
Posey and Dana Parker, contacted Negroponte, stating
they wanted to supply arms to the Contra army after
the U.S. Congress had banned governmental add. Documents
show that Negroponte connected the two with a contact
in the Honduran military. The operation was exposed
nine months later, at which point the Reagan administration
denied any U.S. government involvement, despite
Negroponte’s contact earlier that year. Other
documents uncovered a scheme of Negroponte and then-Vice
President George Bush to funnel Contra aid money
through the Honduran government.
In
addition to his work with the Nicaraguan Contra
army, Negroponte helped conceal from Congress the
murder, kidnapping and torture abuses of a CIA-equipped
and -trained Honduran military unit, Battalion 3-16.
No mention of these human rights violations ever
appeared in State Department Human Rights reports
for Honduras. The Baltimore Sun reports that Efrain
Diaz Arrivillaga, then a delegate in the Honduran
Congress and a voice of dissent, told the Sun that
he complained to Negroponte on numerous occasions
about the Honduran military’s human rights
abuses. Rick Chidester, a junior embassy official
under Negroponte, reported to the Sun that he was
forced to omit an exhaustive gathering of human
rights violations from his 1982 State Department
report. Sister Laetitia Bordes went on a fact-finding
delegation to Honduras in May 1982 to investigate
the whereabouts of 32 Salvadoran nuns and women
of faith who fled to Honduras in 1981 after Archbishop
Oscar Romero’s assassination.
Negroponte
claimed the embassy knew nothing, but in 1996, Negroponte’s
predecessor Jack Binns reported that the women had
been captured, tortured, and then crammed into helicopters
from which they were tossed to their deaths.
John
Negroponte deliberately falsified State Department
human rights reports throughout his time in Honduras.
U.S. missionaries and many people of faith and conscience
were murdered by the CIA-trained Honduran Battalion
3-16, which Negroponte at best overlooked and at
worst oversaw. His nomination is an outrage, but
sadly, it will pass through with minimal resistance
unless constituents do something about it.
On
August 27, 1997, CIA Inspector General Frederick
P. Hitz released a 211-page classified report entitled
"Selected Issues Relating to CIA Activities
in Honduras in the 1980s." This report was
partly declassified on October 22, 1998, in response
to persistent demands by the Honduran human rights
ombudsman. You can read parts of the document on
the National Security Archives website. Only senators
and their staff who have security clearance can
read the report in its entirety. It is absolutely
critical that every senator read and considers the
entire report before approving Negroponte’s
nomination. Negroponte is highly respected in diplomatic
circles as "a man who speaks five languages
but knows when to keep silent." Due to his
urbane temperament and broad support in the professional
diplomatic field, it will be very tempting for senators
to whisk his nomination through. "
*
Defence of Children
International-Palestine, Child’s Rights Documents:
http://www.dci-pal.org/docs/docs.html
*
Washington Report (WRMEA) Foreign Aid To Israel
AMBASSADOR
JOHN NEGROPONTE *
United
States Mission to the United Nations
Press
and Public Affairs Section
United
States Mission to the United Nations
799
UN Plaza
New
York, N.Y. 10017-3505
Press
inquiries and opinions: 212-415-4050
Fax:
212-415-4053
To
contact via email, go directly to: http://www.un.int/usa/index.htm
Secretary
of State Colin L. Powell: phone: (202) 647-7098 email:
secretary@state.gov
*
* * * * * *
UN
Secretary General Kofi Annan : ecu@un.org
Commissioner
for Human Rights webadmin.hchr@unog.ch
or
Fax: +(41-22) 917-9016
*
* * * * * *
Romano
Prodi, President of the European Commission: romano.prodi@cec.eu.int
Council
of the European Union: public.info@consilium.eu.int
*
* * * * *
Rabbis
For Human Rights
Tel.
972 2 563-7731 Fax. 972 2 566-2815 Mobile 972 50607034
info@rhr.israel.net
Website:
http://www.rhr.israel.net/
The
Israeli Government, including Knesset Members and
Embassies in different countries: http://www.mfa.gov.il/
Contact
information for European Governments: http://europa.eu.int/abc/governments/index_en.html
Permanent
Missions to the United Nations: http://www.un.int/missions/webs.html
Many
of e-mail addresses of UN missions are formatted as
follows: france@un.int,
germany@un.int,
india@un.int, ireland@un.int.
italy@un.int, uk@un.int,
etc.
Committee
of struggle against barbarism & arbitrary,
777
bd des nations unies,
13300 SALON, France
http://www.ifrance.com/CLBA-laconscience
mail
to: laconscience@wanadoo.fr
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