Thread by @Ostrov_A

🧵 My speech to @UN_HRC #HRC49 debate on 'Children in Armed Conflict', calling on @UNICEF & int'l community to stop abhorrent use of #ChildSoldiers by #Palestinian terror groups in Gaza.

With thanks to colleagues at @NGOmonitor, for allotting @The_ILF their time slot to present.

@UN_HRC @UNICEF @NGOmonitor @The_ILF The late Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, one of the great thought leaders of our time, once said “Tomorrow’s world is born in what we teach our children today.”

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Indeed, he was so right, especially as we look at the lives of children being ravaged in Ukraine now, as well as the Middle East, a region wrought with conflict & war for decades.

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There is perhaps no greater or more sacrosanct obligation in life, than the protection of our children.

Yet repeatedly, Palestinian children in Gaza have been denied this fundamental right by Hamas.

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This summer for example, many of us will send children to summer camps - camps where they will make life-long friendships, play sports and learn new skills.

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In Gaza, children, as young as 10, will also attend camps. But instead, in these camps, run by Hamas & Islamic Jihad, they will learn how to detonate grenades, fire machine-guns & use knives to stab Jews.

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Such use of ‘child soldiers’ is an abhorrent, undeniable and flagrant war crime and violation of international law, including the Rome Statute and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

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Regrettably, UNICEF, whose primary mission is the defense and promotion of children’s rights, has been deafeningly silent.

Why?

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It is incumbent upon them to speak out, to prevent the continuation of such unconscionable abuse, and to hold the responsible Palestinian terror groups to account for these heinous crimes.

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Mr. President, I turn to all the member states of this Council. I speak to you now as a parent. To those of you, especially with children, I implore you - please speak up, before it’s too late.

Thank you.

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