27 October 2000
Ms. Carol Bellamy
Executive Director
UNICEF House
The United Nations
New York
Dear Ms. Bellamy,
I wish to draw your attention to a deeply disturbing phenomenon that is
currently taking place, whereby the Palestinian leadership is cruelly and
illegally involving their children in violent activities against Israel. I
believe that UNICEF, as an organization whose mandate is to serve as an
advocate for the protection of children's rights, has some obligation to use
its position and its moral authority to convey a clear message to the
Palestinian leadership to put an end to this uncivilized tactic and to urge
them to protect their own children by keeping them away from any potential
areas of conflict.
As you are well aware, both the international and the Palestinian media have
accentuated the tragic fact that Palestinian children have been killed or
wounded in the recent wave of violence which has engulfed the Middle East.
Little consideration, if any, has been given, however, to the question of
why these children have been exposed to such dangers. Has no one thought to
ask why 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?
Chairman Yassir Arafat, who is ruthlessly encouraging the involvement of
children in the violence, calls them "the Generals of the Rocks." He would
have the world believe that Israel, with its guns and helicopters, is waging
a war against ten-year-olds with small stones. In truth, however, the
children are not the Generals of this conflict, but rather are used as human
shields for the gunmen, bomb throwers, and lynch mobs whose faces have been
near totally obscured and invisible to the media.
Whether the children are seen as the Generals of this conflict or merely the
cannon fodder in the Palestinian campaign to discredit Israel, it is clear
that the deliberate use of children in armed conflict is entirely contrary
to international law. 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 largely argued that voluntary involvement in hostilities is
also prohibited, as it amounts to 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
non-international armed conflict. Ironically, it should be noted that the
aforementioned standard seems to be in conformity with Islamic law, which
prohibits children under 15 from participation in jihad (holy war).
Let me assure you that Israel is doing everything in its power in order to
avoid injury to innocent Palestinian civilians, including children, even as
it confronts the widespread wave of violence directed against Israel and its
civilians. The time has come to ask why the Palestinians are not making
similar efforts in order to protect their own children from harm.
I would be grateful for your assistance in this important matter.
Yours sincerely,
Ambassador Yehuda Lancry
Permanent Representative