AUSTRALIAN PARLIAMENTARY CALL FOR FAIR TREATMENT OF PALESTINIAN CHILDREN

Editor's note: Today, 49 Australian parliamentarians signed a statement calling on Israel to stop its military abusing Palestinian children in a campaign initiated by the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN).  Some even posed for photos with posters (see below).  We would be grateful if you could take a moment and thank them on their Facebook pages for taking a stand.


AUSTRALIAN PARLIAMENTARY CALL FOR FAIR TREATMENT OF PALESTINIAN CHILDREN 

We the undersigned Australian Federal parliamentarians, call for urgent action to end the ill-treatment of Palestinian children in the Israeli military detention system. 

Israel is the only country in the world that automatically prosecutes children in military courts. And only Palestinian children. Up to 700 Palestinian children are arrested each year by the Israeli military, and this number is increasing. UNICEF reports that ill-treatment of Palestinian children is “widespread, systematic, and institutionalized throughout the process”. Children as young as 11 are detained by the military. According to well documented research, almost all children have no parent or legal counsel during interrogation; 75% report physical violence; a quarter are made to sign documentation in Hebrew, a language they do not understand; 60% are transferred into prisons in Israel meaning family usually cannot visit. Military courts have a 99% conviction rate for Palestinian defendants. 

We call on the Israeli Government to comply with its obligations under the Convention on the rights of the child and to not arrest or detain Palestinian children unless this is a last resort, and if they are detained, to immediately institute protections for those children including that their safety and best interests are prioritised, and that they are permitted a fair trial.

Signed by 

Dr Anne Aly MP Federal Member for Cowan 

Mr Adam Bandt MP Federal Member for Melbourne 

Hon Linda Burney MP Federal Member for Barton 

Hon Mark Butler MP Federal Member for Port Adelaide 

Ms Terri Butler MP Federal Member for Griffith 

Senator the Hon Doug Cameron Senator for New South Wales 

Ms Lisa Chesters MP Federal Member for Bendigo 

Ms Sharon Claydon MP Federal Member for Newcastle 

Senator Sam Dastyari Senator for New South Wales 

Senator Richard Di Natale Senator for Victoria 

Senator Patrick Dodson Senator for Western Australia 

Mr Steve Georganas MP Federal Member for Hindmarsh 

Mr Andrew Giles MP Federal Member for Scullin 

Senator Sarah Hanson-Young Senator for South Australia

Mr Ross Hart MP Federal Member for Bass 

Mr Chris Hayes MP Federal Member for Fowler 

Mr Julian Hill MP Federal Member for Bruce 

Mr Stephen Jones MP Federal Member for Whitlam 

Senator Skye Kakoschke-Moore Senator for South Australia 

Ms Justine Keay MP Federal Member for Braddon 

Ms Susan Lamb MP Federal Member for Longman 

Dr Andrew Leigh MP Federal Member for Fenner 

Senator Sue Lines Senator for Western Australia 

Senator Gavin Marshall Senator for Victoria 

Senator Nick McKim Senator for Tasmania 

Mr Brian Mitchell MP Federal Member for Lyons 

Senator Claire Moore Senator for Queensland 

Ms Cathy O'Toole MP Federal Member for Herbert 

Mr Graham Perrett MP Federal Member for Moreton 

Senator Louise Pratt Senator for Western Australia 

Senator Lee Rhiannon Senator for New South Wales 

Senator Janet Rice Senator for Victoria 

Ms Michelle Rowland MP Federal Member Greenway 

Ms Rebekah Sharkie MP Federal Member for Mayo 

Senator Rachel Siewert Senator for Western Australia 

Senator Lisa Singh Senator for Tasmania 

Hon Warren Snowdon MP Federal Member for Lingiari 

Ms Anne Stanley MP Federal Member for Werriwa 

Ms Susan Templeman MP Federal Member for Macquarie 

Hon Matthew Thistlethwaite MP Federal Member for Smith 

Senator Anne Urquhart Senator for Tasmania 

Ms Maria Vamvakinou MP Federal Member for Calwell 

Senator Larissa Waters Senator for Queensland 

Senator Murray Watt Senator for Queensland 

Senator Peter Whish-Wilson Senator for Tasmania 

Mr Andrew Wilkie MP Federal Member for Denison 

Mr Josh Wilson MP Federal Member for Fremantle 

Senator Nick Xenophon Senator for South Australia 

Mr Tony Zappia MP Federal Member for Makin

An Australia Palestine Advocacy Network initiative