The "Canada, Stand up for Children's Rights" campaign was launched in July, 2020 by the United Network for Justice & Peace in Palestine & Israel (UNJPPI) and Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME), two organizations committed to pursuing human rights in the Middle East. Thanks for adding your name to our petition which calls Canada to “ensure the human rights of Palestinian children are protected by instructing a Special Envoy to promote, monitor and report on the human rights situation of Palestinian children” in Palestine. 

The Parliamentary petition, e-2667, closed on November 3, and was presented in Parliament by Green MP Paul Manly two weeks later.  Nevertheless, the CJPME petition continues to reflect Canadians' collective outrage at Israel's impunity for its abuses against Palestinian children.  The government is required to respond within 45 days of the Parliamentary petition's presentation in Parliament.  

Get in touch

• If you want to know more about this campaign, please contact us at [email protected]   

Background Facts:

• One of the most tragic incidents of violence against Palestinian children occurred Friday, Dec. 4, 2020, when an Israeli soldier shot 14-year-old Ali Abu Alia in the abdomen.  Abu Alia was attending his village's protest against Israel's military occuption when he was shot.  The EU and the UN have denounced the shooting, but two days later, Canada has not made any comment.

• Each year, between 500 to 700 Palestinian children are detained and prosecuted in Israel’s military court system. Children in detention face widespread abuse: in 2013, a report by UNICEF found that the “ill-treatment of children who come in contact with the military detention system appears to be widespread, systematic and institutionalized throughout the process, from the moment of arrest until the child’s prosecution and eventual conviction and sentencing.” Amnesty International has reported that children face torture in detention, including “beatings, painful shackling and sleep deprivation.” In March 2020, UN officials called for Palestinian children to be released from Israeli-run prisons and detentions centres, saying they are at “particular risk of COVID-19 infection.” As of the end of June 2020, 151 children were in detention.

• Palestinian children face severe risks to their health and safety. During Israel’s 2014 military offensive on Gaza, 547 Palestinian children were killed, and 1,000 were left permanently disabled. Between 2018 and 2019, Israel’s use of force against the Great March of Return protests in Gaza killed 46 children, injured 8,800, and left 22,500 in need of psychosocial support. In the West Bank and East Jerusalem, children report frequent harassment and violence from settlers, and are traumatized by terrifying Israeli night raids. In just the first 7 months of 2020, Israel’s policy of house demolitions has already left 137 minors homeless in the West Bank and another 94 in East Jerusalem.