15 November 2000
Mr. Olara Otunnu
Special Representative of the Secretary-General
for Children and Armed Conflict
The United Nations
New York
Dear Mr. Otunnu,
I am appealing to you within your capacity as Special Representative
of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, as per your
mandate to deal with the impact of armed conflict on children. I wish
to draw your attention to a deeply disturbing phenomenon that has
been taking place in our region during the last few weeks, whereby
the Palestinian leadership is deliberately and illegally involving
their children in violent activities and hostilities against Israel.
Many of these children, below the age of 15, are being ruthlessly
placed at the forefront of the hostilities initiated against Israel
by lynch mobs, armed militias, and other paramilitary terrorist
groups and gunmen. These children are being cruelly manipulated, and
their lives are being put in danger, by the Palestinian leadership
for its own political gains.
The Palestinian leadership proudly encourages the involvement of
children in the violence. Yassir Arafat, Chairman of the Palestinian
Authority, went so far as to call them "the Generals of the Rocks".
Whether these children are perceived as symbols of martyrdom or
merely as the cannon fodder in the Palestinian campaign against
Israel, it is clear that their deliberate use in armed conflict is
entirely contrary to basic international norms and principles of
humanity. Treaty law currently in force sets the age of 15 as the
minimum age for child participation in hostilities, whether directly,
by engaging in combat, or indirectly, through an endless variety of
other means. It is generally accepted that the voluntary involvement
of children in hostilities is also prohibited, as this amounts to the
recruitment of impressionable minors by responsible adults. The
parties to a conflict are accordingly obligated to prohibit children
under 15 from any type of participation in armed conflict.
Ironically, it should be noted that this standard also seems to be in
conformity with Islamic law, which prohibits children under 15 from
participation in jihad (holy war).
I urge you, as an expert on this matter, and as a moral authority on
behalf of the rights of children, to convey a clear message to the
Palestinian leadership to put an end to this cruel and illegal
practice. In this respect it should be recalled that Queen Silvia of
Sweden, one of the leaders who initiated the convening of the World
Summit for Children, was among the first voices of conscience outside
Israel to raise concern and criticism against this practice, and to
place responsibility for this horrific abuse of children on the
Palestinian leaders.
As you are well aware, both the international and the Palestinian
media have focused on the tragic fact that Palestinian children have
been killed or wounded in the recent wave of violence which has
engulfed our region. While Israel stresses its regret and concern
over the loss of life, both Israeli and Arab, and especially of
children, little consideration, if any, has been given by the media
and the Palestinian leadership, to the question of why these children
have been frequently exploited and exposed to such dangers in the
first place. The fact that Palestinian children are frequently found
in the centers of conflict - often on the outskirts of Palestinian
towns - rather than being safe at home or in school, has been given
little coverage in the media.
As stressed in your Reports on the Protection of Children affected by
Armed Conflict, children are truly blameless victims of conflict. The
are particularly vulnerable, and must stand apart from any political
campaign regardless of the perceived justness of a cause. Children
represent the hopes and future of every society, and must not be used
to flare the flames of hatred and incitement to violence. This tragic
practice, whereby children are encouraged, and often even compelled,
to become mythical heroes, not only causes devastating damage to the
children, but also greatly undermines any hope to pursue a peaceful
solution in the region.
Let me assure you that Israel is doing everything in its power in
order to avoid injury to innocent civilians, including children, even
as it confronts the widespread wave of violence directed against its
civilians. The time has come to ask why the Palestinians are not
making similar efforts to remove their children from the front lines
of the conflict.
I would be grateful for your assistance in this important matter.
Yours sincerely,
Ambassador Yehuda Lancry
Permanent Representative