Week 46: Children’s Rights Online Gathering

On November 16th we learned about the rights of Palestinian children. Our guest was Khaled Quzmar, general director of Defense for Children International Palestine.

More about our guest:

Khaled Quzmar is General Director of Defense for Children International – Palestine. Quzmar joined DCIP in 1995 as a lawyer representing Palestinian children in Israeli military courts. He rose through the ranks to become administrative and legal affairs director. He holds a master’s degree in international human rights law. He specializes in issues of juvenile justice and grave violations against children during armed conflict. He earned a Master of Laws degree in international human rights law from the Irish Center for Human Rights at the National University of Ireland Galway.

Our previous webinar with Khaled Quzmar can be seen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe6ayu9IaLI

Defense for Children International Palestine (DCIP) provides direct and free legal aid to Palestinian minors in the Israeli military court system and the Palestinian juvenile justice system and works to limit incarceration periods. DCIP exposes grave human rights violations, including torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, against Palestinian minors under the jurisdictions of the Israeli military court system and the Palestinian juvenile justice system and holds perpetrators accountable. DCIP also conducts evidence-based advocacy in support of policy changes that increase protections and advance access to justice for Palestinian minors.

You can find DCIP on their website at http://www.dci-palestine.org/ and follow them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DCIPS, Twitter http://twitter.com/DCIPalestine, YouTube https://www.youtube.com/user/DCIPS, and Instagram https://www.instagram.com/dcipalestine/

Israeli forces raided DCIP’s offices in July: https://www.dci-palestine.org/israeli_forces_raid_dcip_office_confiscate_computers_and_client_files 
You can find DCIP on their website at http://www.dci-palestine.org/ and follow them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DCIPS, Twitter http://twitter.com/DCIPalestine, YouTube https://www.youtube.com/user/DCIPS, and Instagram https://www.instagram.com/dcipalestine/

Activism Time

Kumi Action is at:
https://kuminow.com/childrensrights/#kumiaction

All of the links and text you need is at https://kuminow.com/week-46-childrens-rights-online-gathering/ and also listed below:

Israel ratified the U.N.’s Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1992. But the Israeli government has had difficulties identifying just what a “child” is, as it argues that the Convention does not apply to the West Bank. Furthermore, while non-Palestinian children in Israel and around the world don’t become adults until they are 18, it treats Palestinians as adults at 16. 

We need to help Israeli politicians learn what a child is. In celebration of Universal Children’s Day on November 20, share a photo of yourself as a child, along with messages such as:

“Hey Israel! When I was 16 I was still a child. Let Palestinian youth enjoy their childhoods!” 

“A six-year old is a child. Period. Treat Palestinian children like children.”

Feel free to look at the Convention on the Rights of the Child treaty and remind Israel which parts of the treaty they are breaking: https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/crc.aspx 

A powerful way to share these photos and messages would be for your class or club or church group to post the childhood photos in a hallway, inviting others to identify who is in each photo. Or, simply share them on social media. Include a link to this page of the Kumi Now website along with the hashtags #KumiNow and #Kumi46.

From the Presentation/Chat

Coming after the session.