Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Last month, I attended the Palestinian children conference organised by the Irish trade union movement. Throughout that conference, speakers outlined in stark detail Israel's human rights abuses of Palestinian children. The conference was opened by a young Palestinian boy who, at just 17 years of age, was already a former child prisoner. I commend Ireland's trade unions on organising the conference and on their long-standing commitment to the Palestinian people.

November marked the 30th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, yet Palestinian children continue to endure systematic and widespread violations of their rights, including their right to life. Over the past 20 years, Israel has detained more than 12,000 children. The latest figures tell us that there are 185 Palestinian children currently in Israeli jails. More are imprisoned for stone throwing. Their basic rights to, for example, legal representation and parental visits are routinely withheld. Child detainees have been blindfolded and deprived of sleep, had their hands and feet restrained and been intimidated and assaulted at the hands of the Israeli military. Children detained and prosecuted in the Israeli military court system can be as young as 12 years. In some perverse way, these children consider themselves the lucky ones. In the past year alone, more than 27 Palestinian children have been killed and 2,000 injured during Israeli air attacks.

In January of this year, the UN warned that children's access to school on the West Bank is not safe. In a statement, the UN noted threats of demolition, clashes on the way to school between students and security forces, and teachers stopped at checkpoints. It also noted that the violent actions of Israeli forces and, on some occasions, settlers presented real and imminent dangers.

Has the work of the international division of the Department of the Taoiseach included a response to these human rights abuses endured daily by Palestinian children? What engagement has the Taoiseach had with the Israeli political leaders on this matter?

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