Dear Sir,

Regarding: A Plea for Immediate Intervention in the Abduction of Three Israeli Youths

1.    Last Thursday evening, on June 12, 2014, three Israeli youths were abducted, two of whom are only sixteen.

2.    The abduction constitutes a profound infringement of conventions and a blatant violation of the right of Israeli children to lead a peaceful, unthreatened life. These are not soldiers, nor were they engaged in battle - they are three young adolescents who should have been dividing their time between preparation for their final exams and their family circle.

3.    As the head of the United Nations, I sincerely hope you will act in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, stating that “States Parties shall take all appropriate national, bilateral and multilateral measures to prevent the abduction of, the sale of or traffic in children for any purpose or in any form” (Article 35).

4.    In addition, the Convention on the Rights of the Child maintains that “States Parties undertake to respect and to ensure respect for rules of international humanitarian law applicable to them in armed conflicts which are relevant to the child” (Article 38.1).

5.    The abduction of the youths is a horrendous breach of the most basic humanitarian conventions; regardless of their political views, if those can be applied at such a young age, we must all remember that these are young adolescents. In a situation as dire as this the United Nations as a whole, and the institutions within it concerned with children’s rights in particular, cannot stand idly by while the lives of these innocent youths are in peril.

6.    I insist that the UN join the efforts to save the children, act immediately to ensure their well-being and do everything in its power to assist the speedy return of the youths to their families.


Respectfully,

M.K. Orly Levi-Abekasis
Chair of the Knesset Committee on the Rights of the Child


c.c. Mr. Macharia Kamau - President of the United Nations Children's Fund
Mr. Andres B. Johnsson - Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union
Ms. Anne Brasseur - President of the Parliamentary Assembly