[Ppnews] Al-Awda demands immediate release of all Palestinian children in Israeli prisons

Wed Oct 27 09:58:05 EDT 2010

Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition

October 27, 2010

For Immediate Release

Al-Awda Launches New Palestinian Children's Rights Campaign

Al-Awda, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition announces the 
launching of its Palestinian Children's Right Campaign. The mission 
of this campaign is to advocate for the immediate release of all 
Palestinian children detained in Israeli prisons, and to demand an 
end to the institutionalized and systematic abuse that these children 
are subjected to. The campaign has set as its goal the full 
restoration of Palestinian children's rights in accordance with 
international law including, but not limited to, their right to 
return to their homes of origin, to education, to medical and 
psychological care, and to freedom of movement and expression.

BACKGROUND

According to International Solidarity Foundation for Human Rights, 
1,859 Palestinian children have been killed by the Israeli army since 
September 28, 2000. This is equivalent to more than one quarter of 
the 7,407 Palestinians who were killed by Israel in the same period. 
According to mental health care organizations, approximately 80% of 
Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip display symptoms of post 
traumatic stress disorder and are in need of care. According to 
Defense Children International (DCI), a Geneva based non-governmental 
agency, about 700 Palestinian children in the West Bank alone are 
imprisoned by Israel every year. Further, based on a survey of 100 of 
these imprisoned children in 2009, DCI found that 69% were beaten and 
kicked, 49% were threatened, 14% were held in solitary confinement, 
12% were threatened with sexual assault, including rape, and 32% were 
forced to sign confessions written in Hebrew, a language they do not 
understand. Such institutionalized and systematic mistreatment by the 
Israeli state of detained Palestinian children is considered torture 
by the United Nations under international law. Palestinian children 
in the West Bank and Gaza Strip are also systematically denied their 
right to education, to medical and psychological care, and to freedom 
of movement and expression. The total Palestinian population in the 
world today is estimated at about 11 million. Of these, 7.2 million 
including their children are living in forced exile or internally 
displaced, and are denied their right to return to their homes and 
lands of origin by the state of Israel.

ACTION

The current situation and the severity of the systematic attack by 
the Israeli state on the children of Palestine demands a 
comprehensive and coordinated response. Therefore, Al-Awda, The 
Palestine Right to Return Coalition has decided to launch this 
campaign specifically to demand the release of all Palestinian 
children from Israeli prisons and an end to all forms of 
institutionalized abuse of these children by the Israeli state. The 
committee, which has been formed to lead this campaign, intends to 
provide  comprehensive education to the public, politicians and the 
media, and to organize effective advocacy for the rights of 
Palestinian children living under occupation, internally displaced or 
in forced exile in refugee camps and elsewhere. It intends to raise 
funds to support its work and help provide mental health services for 
children in need of such service.

Among its goals, the committee intends to develop informational 
campaigns that will include regular updates, the production of 
factsheets, organization of lecture tours, film showings, rallies and 
protests, and other educational events. The committee will also 
organize meetings with politicians, newspaper and other media editors 
and editorial boards. It will publish calls and petitions to action, 
and press releases regularly. It
intends to highlight the work needed for Palestinian child rights at 
the Annual International Al-Awda Conventions, and to reach out to 
community and student organizations, clubs, churches, mosques, 
etc.  The committee also intends to coordinate its work with other 
children's rights organizations and to support all boycotts, 
divestment and sanction campaigns until children achieve their full 
rights in compliance with international law and legal norms and 
standards. The committee also intends to fundraise to support its 
work and to help provide mental health services for children in need 
of such service.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

We need your assistance with all aspects of this campaign!

Volunteer:  If you would like to volunteer to help us with the action 
plan outlined above, please write to us at 
<mailto:child.rights at al-awda.org>child.rights at al-awda.org explaining 
how and with what aspects you may be able to help.

Donate:  To make a tax-deductible donation to help with the work of 
this campaign, please address your check or money order to Al-Awda - 
PRRC, PO Box 131352, Carlsbad, CA 92013, USA. Please indicate 
"Palestine Children's Campaign" in the memo line. Alternatively, you 
can submit your donation using your credit card online using the 
PayPal button at 
<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=dyzd5lcab&et=1103832813738&s=6759&e=001iHDIBTQf2sNH00GJWshrv4L_vat7BeIbPj6JByg0x2FegAewtmmSlPSMsFvbkJTMqG8m9mewsKLJ6HGwHkrlFJP2VsiGSc17IebIpf13R75oX2nlX0Y9yXeaNuGU7M0c>http://www.al-awda.org/donate.html 
. If you prefer, you may call us 9 A.M. to 5 P.M. Monday to Friday at 
760-918-9441 with your credit card information instead.

Organizations:  We invite all organizations, who would like to 
advocate for the children's rights and would like to coordinate 
efforts with us on this campaign, to write to us at 
<mailto:child.rights at al-awda.org>child.rights at al-awda.org .
Children are the most vulnerable members of any society. Israel's 
systematic attack on Palestine's children demands that all people of 
conscience stand up and take action in demand of their full rights!

Until return,

Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition
PO Box 131352
Carlsbad, CA 92013, USA
Tel: 760-918-9441
Fax: 760-918-9442
E-mail: <mailto:info at al-awda.org>info at al-awda.org
WWW: 
<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=dyzd5lcab&et=1103832813738&s=6759&e=001iHDIBTQf2sM7eisswb3Hq98yBzKK2lP1G5UH5BOrAG1UC1UrGydY6Xh-z7ga306kUD1RIvKXGsTZO9V7ADQa76mPGCi6cPNhd4FFdxwQfrk=>http://al-awda.org

Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition (PRRC) is the 
largest network of grassroots activists and students dedicated to 
education and advocacy for the restoration of Palestinian human, 
national, legal, political and historical rights in full with 
particular emphasis on the right of Palestinians to return to their 
homes and lands of origin from which they have been dispossessed 
since 1948. PRRC is a not for profit tax-exempt educational and 
charitable 501(c)(3) organization as defined by the Internal Revenue 
Service (IRS) of the United States of America. Under IRS guidelines, 
your donations to PRRC are tax-deductible. To donate, go to 
<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=dyzd5lcab&et=1103832813738&s=6759&e=001iHDIBTQf2sNH00GJWshrv4L_vat7BeIbPj6JByg0x2FegAewtmmSlPSMsFvbkJTMqG8m9mewsKLJ6HGwHkrlFJP2VsiGSc17IebIpf13R75oX2nlX0Y9yXeaNuGU7M0c>http://www.al-awda.org/donate.html 
and follow the instructions. To become a member, go to 
<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=dyzd5lcab&et=1103832813738&s=6759&e=001iHDIBTQf2sML9_IGUyxVjUAMSjYhXsL_aM5kcg9OXbFYrOGO6QYHNSvq3kB10aZpyne7-nEx-oL4MWZEwzKO9tpOknWFET69HKhHpmfmrGbOKVhHEcu8W-Y8uS17sCui6gcLSCErNW8=>http://www.al-awda.org/membership.html

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