,i #aaeth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #dcia ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,november #ad1 #bjag,ms4 ,mc,collum 7for herself1 ,mr4 ,pocan1 ,mr4 ,grijalva1 ,mr4 ,conyers1 ,mr4 ,blumenauer1 ,ms4 ,pingree1 ,mr4 ,de,fazio1 ,mr4 ,carson of ,indiana1 ,mr4 ,gutirrez1 and ,mr4 ,danny ,k4 ,davis of ,illinois7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs ,a ,,bill ,to require the ,secretary of ,state to certify that ,united ,states funds do not support military detention1 interrogation1 abuse1 or ill-treatment of ,palestinian children1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,promoting ,human ,rights by ,ending ,israeli ,military ,detention of ,palestinian ,children ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,israel ratified the ,convention on the ,rights of the ,child on ,october #c1 #aiia1 which states-- 7,a7 in article #cg7;a71 that no child shall be subject to torture or other cruel1 inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment2 7,b7 in article #cg7;b71 that the arrest1 detention or imprisonment of a child shall be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time2 7,c7 in article #cg7;c71 that every child deprived of liberty shall be treated with humanity and respect for the inherent dignity of the human person1 and in a manner which takes into account the needs of persons of his or her age2 and 7,d7 in article #cg7;d71 that every child deprived of his or her liberty shall have the right to prompt access to legal and other appropriate assistance1 as well as the right to challenge the legality of the deprivation of his or her liberty before a court or other competent1 independent and impartial authority1 and to a prompt decision on any such action4 7#b7 ,in the ,israeli-occupied ,west ,bank1 there are two separate legal systems1 with ,israeli military law imposed on ,palestinians and ,israeli civilian law applied to ,israeli settlers4 7#c7 ,the ,israeli military detains around #ejj to #gjj ,palestinian children between the ages of #ab and #ag each year and prosecutes them before a military court system that lacks basic and fundamental guarantees of due process in violation of international standards4 7#d7 ,approximately #b1gjj1jjj ,palestinians live in the ,west ,bank1 of which around #dg percent are children under the age of #ah1 who live under military occupation1 the constant fear of arrest1 detention1 and violence by the ,israeli military1 and the threat of recruitment by armed groups4 7#e7 ,since #bjjj1 an estimated #aj1jjj ,palestinian children have been detained by ,israeli security forces in the ,west ,bank and prosecuted in the ,israeli military court system4 7#f7 ,children under the age of #ab cannot be prosecuted in ,israeli military courts4 ,however1 ,israeli military forces detain children under the age of #ab and question them1 for several hours1 before releasing them to their families or to ,palestinian authorities4 7#g7 ,human ,rights ,watch documented1 in a ,july #bjae report titled ,israel3 ,security ,forces ,abuse ,palestinian ,children1 that such detentions also included the use of chokeholds1 beatings1 and coercive interrogation on children between the ages of #aa and #ae years4 7#h7 ,the ,united ,nations ,children's ,fund 7,,unicef7 concluded1 in a ,february #bjac report titled ,children in ,israeli ,military ,detention1 that the ill-treatment of children who come in contact with the military detention system appears to be widespread1 systematic and institutionalized throughout the process1 from the moment of arrest until the child's prosecution and eventual conviction and sentencing4 7#i7 ,the #bjac ,,unicef report further determines that the ,israeli system of military detention of ,palestinian children profoundly deviates from international norms1 stating that in no other country are children systematically tried by juvenile military courts that1 by definition1 fall short of providing the necessary guarantees to ensure respect for their rights4 7#aj7 ,,unicef also released reports in ,october #bjac and ,february #bjae noting that ,israeli authorities have1 since ,march #bjac1 issued new military orders and taken steps to reinforce existing military and police standard operating procedures relating to the detention of ,palestinian children4 ,however1 the reports still found continued and persistent evidence of ill-treatment of ,palestinian children detained by ,israeli forces4 7#aa7 ,in #bjac1 the annual ,country ,report on ,human ,rights ,practices for ,israel and the ,occupied ,territories 7,annual ,report7 published by the ,department of ,state noted that ,israeli security services continued to abuse1 and in some cases torture minors1 frequently arrested on suspicion of stone-throwing1 in order to coerce confessions4 ,the torture tactics used included threats1 intimidation1 long-term handcuffing1 beatings1 and solitary confinement4 7#ab7 ,the #bjac ,annual ,report also stated that signed confessions by ,palestinian minors1 written in ,hebrew1 a language most could not read1 continued to be used as evidence against them in ,israeli military courts4 7#ac7 ,the #bjaf ,annual ,report noted a significant increase in detentions of minors in #bjaf1 and that ,israeli authorities continued to use confessions signed by ,palestinian minors1 written in ,hebrew4 ,it also highlighted the renewed use of administrative detention against ,palestinians1 including children1 a practice in which a detainee may be held indefinitely1 without charge or trial1 by the order of a military commander or other government official4 7#ad7 ,the nongovernmental organization ,defense for ,children ,international ,palestine collected affidavits from #dbi ,west ,bank children who were detained between #bjab and #bjae1 and concluded that-- 7,a7 three-quarters of the children endured physical violence following arrest2 7,b7 under ,israeli military law1 children do not have the right to a lawyer during interrogation2 7,c7 #ig percent of the children did not have a parent present during their interrogation2 7,d7 #hd percent of the children were not properly informed of their rights by ,israeli police2 7,e7 interrogators used stress positions1 threats of violence1 and isolation to coerce confessions from detained children2 and 7,f7 #ff children were held in pre-trial1 pre-charge isolation for interrogation purposes for an average period of #ac days4 7#ae7 ,amendments to ,israeli military law concerning the detention of ,palestinian children have had little to no impact on the treatment of children during the first #bd to #dh hours after an arrest1 when the majority of their ill-treatment occurs4 7#af7 ,in #bjjb1 the ,united ,nations ,committee on the ,rights of the ,child1 which monitors implementation of the ,convention on the ,rights of the ,child1 reviewed ,israel's compliance with the ,convention and expressed serious concern regarding allegations and complaints of inhuman or degrading practices and of torture and ill-treatment of ,palestinian children during arrest1 interrogation1 and detention4 7#ag7 ,in #bjac1 the ,committee declared that ,palestinian children arrested by ,israeli forces continue to be systematically subject to degrading treatment1 and often to acts of torture and that ,israel had fully disregarded the previous recommendations of the ,committee to comply with international law4 #c4 ,purpose ,the purpose of this ,act is to promote and protect the human rights of ,palestinian children and to ensure that ,united ,states taxpayer funds shall not be used to support the military detention of ,palestinian children4 #d4 ,sense of ,congress ,it is the sense of ,congress that the detention and prosecution of ,palestinian children in a military court system by the ,government of ,israel-- 7#a7 violates international law and internationally recognized standards of human rights2 7#b7 is contrary to the values of the ,american people and the efforts of the ,united ,states to support equality1 human rights1 and dignity for both ,palestinians and ,israelis2 7#c7 undermines efforts by the ,united ,states to achieve a just and lasting peace between ,israel and the ,palestinians2 and 7#d7 should be terminated and replaced with a juvenile justice system in which ,israeli authorities do not discriminate between the treatment of ,israeli and ,palestinian children and that adheres to internationally recognized standards of human rights and obligations4 #e4 ,statement of policy ,it is the policy of the ,united ,states not to support the military detention of ,palestinian children1 a practice that results in widespread and systematic human rights violations against ,palestinian child detainees and is inconsistent with the values of the ,united ,states4 #f4 ,prohibition on ,united ,states funds to support military detention of ,palestinian children 7a7 ,prohibition ,notwithstanding any other provision of law1 none of the funds authorized to be appropriated for assistance to ,israel may be used to support the military detention1 interrogation1 abuse1 or ill-treatment of ,palestinian children in violation of international humanitarian law or to support the use against ,palestinian children of any of the following practices3 7#a7 ,torture or cruel1 inhumane1 or degrading treatment4 7#b7 ,physical violence1 including restraint in stress positions4 7#c7 ,hooding1 sensory deprivation1 death threats1 or other forms of psychological abuse4 7#d7 ,incommunicado detention or solitary confinement4 7#e7 ,administrative detention1 as described in section #b7ac74 7#f7 ,denial of access to parents or legal counsel during interrogations4 7#g7 ,confessions obtained by force or coercion4 7b7 ,certification ,not later than ,october #ae1 #bjah1 and annually thereafter1 the ,secretary of ,state shall submit to the ,committee on ,appropriations of the ,house of ,representatives and the ,committee on ,appropriations of the ,senate-- 7#a7 a certification that none of the funds obligated or expended in the previous fiscal year for assistance to the ,government of ,israel have been used by such ,government to support personnel1 training1 lethal materials1 equipment1 facilities1 logistics1 transportation or any other activity that supports or is associated with any of the activities prohibited under subsection 7a72 or 7#b7 if the ,secretary cannot make such a certification1 a report describing in detail the amount of such funds used by the ,government of ,israel in violation of subsection 7a7 and each activity supported by such funds4 7c7 ,additional matter in existing reports ,the ,secretary of ,state shall include1 in each report required under section #aaf of the ,foreign ,assistance ,act of #aifa 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #baean71 a description of the nature and extent of detention1 interrogation1 abuse1 or ill-treatment of ,palestinian children by ,israeli military forces or police in violation of international humanitarian law4