A/HRC/24/30 pain caused by multiple injuries allegedly inflicted through torture.73 Israeli authorities had previously announced that he died of a heart attack, although this statement was subsequently withdrawn.74 International human rights obligations towards all Palestinian detainees and prisoners in Israeli custody must be fully respected, including the absolute prohibition on torture. 56. By 30 April 2013, there were 236 Palestinian children in Israeli detention, 44 of whom were under the age of 16.75 Data collected by UNICEF through affidavits76 and reports of victims collected by OHCHR show that the rights of Palestinian children were often violated by Israel. Thirty per cent of children reported being aggressively taken into custody in the middle of the night by armed Israeli soldiers. Night arrests are deeply traumatic for children, as they are akin to military operations and often include smashed windows and shouted verbal threats. Few children or parents were informed where the child was being taken, why or for how long. Parents were not allowed to accompany them, and 87 per cent of children were not informed of their right to legal counsel. Ninety-one per cent of children were painfully handtied and blindfolded and subjected to physical violence, including beating, slapping, kicking and/or verbal abuse during the journey to interrogation and detention. 57. Twenty-two per cent of children stated that during interrogations they had been threatened with death, physical violence, solitary confinement and sexual assault, against themselves or a family member. In the majority of cases, the principal evidence against a child was the child’s own admission of guilt, often elicited through a document drafted in Hebrew, a language they cannot understand.77 According to UNICEF, ill-treatment of Palestinian children in the Israeli detention system is widespread, systematic and institutionalized.78 There are serious concerns that such treatment and combination of practices may, in some cases, amount to torture, as defined by article 1 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Such practices would also violate the Convention on the Rights of the Child (art. 37) and international humanitarian law.79 Israeli authorities have stated that they will work towards the implementation of the UNICEF recommendations regarding children in military detention.80 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 16 http://www.alhaq.org/advocacy/topics/right-to-life-and-body-integrity/677-14-palestinian-and-israeliorganisations-condemn-lack-of-accountability-for-torture-against-palestinian-detainees http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/autopsy-shows-palestinian-prisoner-died-fromtorture-says-pa-chief-pathologist-1.505545 These numbers only include security prisoners. Information provided by B’Tselem. Through the Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism on grave violations of children’s rights in situations of armed conflict, see http://www.unicef.org/protection/57929_57997.html. During the reporting period, UNICEF collected the affidavits of 23 boys arrested and detained by Israeli authorities. UNICEF, Children in Israeli Military Detention: Observations and Recommendations, Jerusalem, 2013, p. 13, available at: http://www.unicef.org/oPt/UNICEF_oPt_Children_in_Israeli_Military_Detention_Observations_and _Recommendations_-_6_March_2013.pdf. Ibid. Articles 32 and 76 of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (Convention IV). http://embassies.gov.il/UnGeneva/NewsAndEvents/Pages/Israel-to-collaborate-with-UNICEF-toimplement-recommendations-Mar2013.aspx