[26 June 2023] – This month marks 11 years since a delegation of UK lawyers reviewed the treatment of Palestinian children under Israeli military law and published their findings and recommendations.[i] The Foreign Office funded report – Children in Military Custody (2012) – found undisputed evidence that the military detention system violates at least 6 articles under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and 2 articles under the Fourth Geneva Convention.[ii] The report concluded by making 40 recommendations.

• Night arrests - The report recommended that children should not be arrested at night except in "extreme and unusual circumstances" and a pilot study using summonses should be carried out as an alternative. Eleven years on, 52 percent of children continue to be arrested at night in terrifying military raids on their homes. The pilot study is largely defunct with no written summonses being issued since 2021. According to the military authorities no recordswere maintained during the study making internal assessment impossible. In August 2021, the military authorities stated that they have introduced new procedures for summonsing children but the procedures remain "classified". This issue remains before the High Court of Justice. 

• Hand ties - The report recommended that single plastic hand ties should never be used and other methods of restraint should not be used unless strictly necessary. Eleven years on, 95 percent of children continue to be zip-tied with most complaining that the ties are "painful" or "very tight and painful". In 88 percent of cases, the Israeli military's own regulations for the use of ties are disregarded. In some cases, children report loss of sensation to their hands, hands turning blue due to lack of circulation, swelling, and cuts to their wrists resulting in bleeding. 

• Blindfolds - The report recommended that "children should never be blindfolded or hooded". Eleven years on, 85 percent of children continue to be blindfolded. In 2019, lawyers for the military authorities informed the High Court of Justice “that military orders and regulations forbid blindfolding of detainees, and action to clarify the rules has been taken and will continue to be taken on a continuous basis.” This statement cannot be reconciled with the evidence. While there is no security reason for blindfolding children it does appear to weaken their resolve prior to interrogation making it substantially easier to obtain confessions. 

• Violence and threats - The report recommended that "the prohibition on violent, threatening or coercive conduct towards children should be strictly observed throughout all stages of arrest". Eleven years on, 67 percent of children report being subjected to physical violence while 78 percent report being threatened. The types of violence reported include: kicking, punching, struck with guns and slapping. The types of threats reported include: arresting parents, harsh interrogation, long-term detention, rape, revocation of work permits, solitary confinement, home demolition and death.

•  Right to silence - The report recommended that children should be informed of their right to silence at the time of arrest, and reminded of the right prior to interrogation. Eleven years on, just 3 percent of children are being informed of their right to silence prior to interrogation. Some children report that when they are informed of the right to silence it is accompanied by a threat, such as: "if you remain silent I will arrest you again" and "later when I wanted to practice my right to silence he yelled at me and thumped the table aggressively". Other children report being told, but not understanding their rights. The report recommended that where this right is not respected the prosecution should be discontinued and the child released.

• Right to consult with a lawyer - The report recommended that the child's right under Israeli military law to consult with a lawyer prior to interrogation should be respected. Eleven years on, 65 percent of children do not consult with a lawyer prior to interrogation in spite of this right being recognised as a "fundamental right" by the Supreme Court. In cases where a child does consult a lawyer, this consists of a brief phone call generally overheard by an interrogator. In some cases children are permitted to phone a lawyer half-way through the interrogation, or after they have confessed. It should also be recalled that no legal aid is provided by Israel to Palestinian children prosecuted for security offences in the military courts. 

• Interrogated in the presence of a parent - The report recommended that "children should have a parent or guardian present prior to and during their interrogation". While there is no right under Israeli military law for a parent to be present, the military authorities acknowledge that there is a discretion to permit parents to attend an interrogation. Eleven years on, no child has been interrogated in the presence of a parent since 2019. In some cases the authorities are aware that parents are waiting outside the interrogation centre but are still refused access to their children.  Eleven years ago the UK delegation was informed by the military judges they met "that great efforts are made to find parents and to allow them to be present at the interrogations." This statement cannot be reconciled with the evidence. 

• Solitary confinement - The report recommended that "solitary confinement should never be used as a standard mode of detention or imprisonment". Historically, less than 4 percent of children reported being held in solitary as part of their interrogation. Eleven years on, 27 percent of children now report being held in solitary (42 percent in 2021). On average, each child now spends 14 days in solitary with profound psychological and physical consequences, including self-harm and suicide attempts. The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture has declared that "the imposition of solitary confinement, of any duration, on juveniles amounts to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment" in violation of a number of international conventions and he called for its absolute prohibition.

• Unlawful transfer - The report recommended that "all Palestinian children detained under Israeli military law should be held in facilities in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and not in Israel, which constitutes a breach of article 76 of the Fourth Geneva Convention". Eleven years on, 70 percent of Palestinian children are unlawfully transferred out of the West Bank to prisons located inside Israel - according to data released by the Israeli Prison Service.[vi] The UK government has confirmed that this practice violates the Fourth Geneva Convention and is classified as a war crime.  It is estimated that between 350-700 children are being transferred each year, or nearly 40,000 children since June 1967.[vii]

• Can the ICC retain legitimacy while selectively prosecuting the unlawful transfer of children?
• A brief history of the UN Secretary General's statements on Palestinian child detainees
• The UNICEF Report - 10 years on