Locking up a child is never in their best interest. Detention affects children’s development, makes them more vulnerable to torture and ill-treatment, jeopardizes their right to education, and risks compromising their chances to integrate into society.
Nonetheless, at least 1.3 to 1.5 million of them are deprived of liberty every year worldwide, according to a 2019 UN study which the OMCT supported and which included prisons, immigration detention, and various institutions. Another estimated one million children find themselves in police custody.
Those among them who are in conflict with the law come mostly from poor and marginalized communities. Abuse, including torture, which is frequent in settings of deprivation of liberty, takes a particularly heavy toll on children.
The SOS-Torture Network is at the heart of the OMCT and is the currently the most important global network striving to put an end to torture and protect…
The OMCT works with 200 member organisations to end torture and ill-treatment, assist victims, and protect human rights defenders at risk wherever they…
the
– UPWC, secretariat member of the General Union of Palestinian Women and a prominent Human Rights Defender and activist in Palestine. Her work is well renowned at the regional and international level and is recognised for “empowering Palestinian women and advocating against human rights violations resulting from the Israeli occupation”. She is active at the World Social Forum and a member of the Regional Coalition for Women Human Rights Defenders in Middle East and North Africa – and framed within the definition of the
European Union in its Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders.
Following her arrest, on 9 November, the Israeli military commander announced that Khitam would be incarcerated for 6 months under an administrative detention (AD) order and sent her to Ofer Prison. After an appeal from her lawyers, Khitam will be held for at least 4 months under AD without charges, trial or conviction nor a definite date of release, as AD orders remain subject to renewal. It