[Ppnews] Israel to Detain African Migrant Children in Prison

[Political Prisoner News]

  Israel to Detain Migrant Children in Prison

author Friday August 10, 2012 12:31author by Kelly Joiner -
http://www.imemc.org/article/64054

African children, whose parents bring them to Israel illegally will now 
be held in Givon Prison in Ramle, rather than a special facility for 
migrant youth, in violation of international law concerning the 
treatment of children and a 2011 Israeli High Court ruling.

According to a report in Israeli daily Ha'aretz, the move to place the 
children in prison came after six boys escaped from the youth facility 
last week. The children will now be housed in an adult prison according 
to the Israeli prison service, in order to ensure that no more children 
escape.

This decision contravenes a 2011 Israeli High Court ruling that children 
cannot be held in prisons or with adults. The court cited as 
justification the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) to which 
Israel is a signatory.

The CRC states that at all times, the most important principle regarding 
the treatment of children is what is in the best interests of the child. 
The director of the Hotline for Migrant Workers, Reut Michaeli 
commented, "Givon Prison is a prison in every sense of the word. Once 
again we're learning that the good of the child is not the main thing on 
the state's mind."

Although children are being housed in a separate wing from adults, the 
facility is still a prison designed for adults. The Israeli prison 
service claims that the situation is temporary.

However, Israel routinely detains Palestinian children in Israeli 
military prisons with adults. Numerous international organizations 
including Defence For Children International have documented this 
practice which Israel's own courts have found to be illegal.

Given the fact that this inhumane violation of the rights of Palestinian 
children continues with several hundred Palestinian children currently 
incarcerated in Israeli military prisons, as well as the increasing 
xenophobia of the Israeli population, it is unlikely that migrant 
children will escape this same fate unless the institutional structures 
within Israel begin to support human rights for all, not only Jewish 
Israelis.
-- 
Freedom Archives 522 Valencia Street San Francisco, CA 94110 415 
863.9977 www.freedomarchives.org
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