<%@LANGUAGE="JAVASCRIPT" CODEPAGE="1252"%> Basic Principle: Respect for the Family
This Law has opened in a separate window so that you can study it simultaneously with other documents.
To search for a word, use the "find" function in the Edit Menu at the top of your browser.
To close or minimalize this page, click in the appropriate box in the upper right corner.

STUDY GUIDES: Israeli Law Israeli Military Orders International Law International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on Wall

STUDY GUIDE : International Law & Israel

Relevant Major Principles of International Law - 16. RESPECT FOR THE FAMILY -- One of the basic principles of International Human Rights Law is respect for the family, family unity, and the safety and special needs of women and children
RELEVANT PRINCIPLE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

One of the basic principles of International Human Rights Law is respect for the family, family unity, and the special needs of women (especially when pregnant or mothering young children) and children themselves. In fact, practically every single human rights and humanitarian international law mentions the rights and special needs of the family, women and children.

Below is a table which lists where different sub-issues of family protection and unity are covered in which selected laws:
KEY
(abbreviations for different International Laws)

FAMILY ISSUES IN INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS & HUMANITARIAN LAW
Family Issues
Protection Of Family Life & Family Unity (UDHR 12, 16(3)) (ICCPR 23(1)) (ICESC 10(1)) (ICRC 9(1) & 10(1&2),16(1), 20(1&3), 22(2)) (GC4 26,27,49,82) (GCP1 74,78(3)) (GCP2 4(3b))
Family Communications (GC4 25,26,106) (GCP2 5(2b))
Family As Fundamental Unit Of Society (UDHR 16(3)) (ICCPR 23(1)) (ICESC 10(1))
Family Medical & Psychological Needs (ICESC 12(1)) (GC4 14,17,23,89)
Family Rights (Religion, Property, Etc.) (ICCPR 17(1)) (.HC4 46) (GC4 27)
Family Adequate Standard of Living (UDHR 25(1)) (ICESC 7(a(ii)) & 11(1))
Family Rights During War & Occupation (GC4 82,132) (GCP1 70(1)) (GCP2 5(2c))

Marriage
Parents Right To Choose Education, Religion, & Protection For Their Children (UDHR 26(3)) (ICCPR 18(4)) (ICESC 13(3)) (ICRC 5) (GCP2 4(3a))
Rights during Marriage (UDHR 16(1&2)), (ICRD 5(d(iv))) (ICCPR 14(1) & 23(2-4)) (ICESC 10(1))
Special Protections In Matrimonial Court Disputes (ICCPR 14(1&4))

Women
Mothers With Children (UDHR 25(2)) (ICESC 10(2)) (GC4 38(5),89,132) (GCP1 76(2&3)) (GCP2 6(4))
Women Medical & Psychological Needs (GCP2 5(2d,e))
Protection From Men (GCP1 76(1))(GCP2 5(2a))
Women In Penal System (GCP1 75(5), 76(2&3)) (GCP2 5(2b,d,e), 6(4))
Pregnant Women (ICESC 10(2)) (GC4 38(5),89,132) (GCP1 76(2&3)) (GCP2 6(4))
Women In Wartime (GCP2 5(2c))

Children
Special Protections Of Children As POW, And In Criminal Cases (ICCPR 14(1&4)) (ICRC 37(c)) (GCP1 77(5)) (GCP2 6(4))
Special Protections For Children Within General Society (UDHR 25) (ICCPR 24(1)) (ICESC 10(1&3)) (ICRC 20(1))
Special Protections For Children During War & Occupation (GC4 14,17,38(5),50) (GCP1 77(1)) (GCP2 4(3e))
Child Adoption & Foster Home System (ICRC 20(1&3), 21(a&b), 22(2))
Child Cultural & Religious Needs (ICESC 13(3)) (ICRC 20(3)) (GC4 24) (GCP1 2) (GCP2 4(3a))
No Discrimination Against Children (ICCPR 24(1)) (ICRC 2(1-2))
Child Educational Needs (ICESC 13(1)) (GC4 24,94) (GCP1 2) (GCP2 4(3a))
Child Gov't Registration, Nationality, & Respect For ID Of Children (ICCPR 24(2-3)) (ICRC 7(1) & 8(1))
Child Labor Practices (ICESC 10(3))
Child Medical & Psychological Needs (ICESC 12(1&2(a))) (GC4 14,17,23,89)
Child Refugees (ICRC 22(1)) (GCP1 78(1))
Child Slavery (ICRC 21(a))
Child Soldiers (GCP1 77(2-4)) (GCP2 4(3c&d))

RELEVANT LAWS & RESPONSES
  • As per International Law -
    • UN Charter, article 2, para. 4 (1945) (full text) (specific article - see below)
    • Declariple 1 (full text) (specific article - see below)
    • Hague Regulations IV (1907), articles 43 & 55 (full text) (specific articles - see below)
    • Geneva Conventions IV (1949), article 47 & 54 (full text) (specific articles - see below)
  • Israeli Violations -
    • 1. Violating the basic principle of supporting family unity, the Israeli legislature (Knesset) passed a law in 2003 forbidding the spouses of Palestinian Arabs who were living in Israel from joining them if they lived in the occupied territories (more details).
  • International Response -
    • United Nations -
    • International Miscellaneous response -
    • Academic Analysis -
RELEVANT QUOTES FROM TEXT

INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW:

  • Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)
    • Article 12. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.
    • Article 16.
      • (1) Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as a marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.
      • (2) Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.
      • (3) The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.
    • Article 25.
      • (1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing, and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age, or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
      • (2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.
    • Article 26.
      • (3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

  • International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (1965)
    • 5. In compliance with the fundamental obligations laid down in article 2 of this Convention, States Parties undertake to prohibit and to eliminate racial discrimination in all its forms and to guarantee the right of everyone, without distinction as to race, colour, or national or ethnic origin, to equality before the law, notably in the enjoyment of the following rights:
      • (d) Other civil rights, in particular:
        • (iv) The right to marriage and choice of spouse;

  • International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966)
    • Article 14.
      • 1. All persons shall be equal before the courts and tribunals. In the determination of any criminal charge against him, or of his rights and obligations in a suit at law, everyone shall be entitled to a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal established by law. The press and the public may be excluded from all or part of a trial for reasons of morals, public order (ordre public) or national security in a democratic society, or when the interest of the private lives of the parties so requires, or to the extent strictly necessary in the opinion of the court in special circumstances where publicity would prejudice the interests of justice; but any judgement rendered in a criminal case or in a suit at law shall be made public except where the interest of juvenile persons otherwise requires or the proceedings concern matrimonial disputes or the guardianship of children.
      • 4. In the case of juvenile persons, the procedure shall be such as will take account of their age and the desirability of promoting their rehabilitation.
    • Article 17.
      • 1. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to unlawful attacks on his honour and reputation.
    • Article 18.
      • 4. The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to have respect for the liberty of parents and, when applicable, legal guardians to ensure the religious and moral education of their children in conformity with their own convictions.
    • Article 23.
      • 1. The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.
      • 2. The right of men and women of marriageable age to marry and to found a family shall be recognized.
      • 3. No marriage shall be entered into without the free and full consent of the intending spouses.
      • 4. States Parties to the present Covenant shall take appropriate steps to ensure equality of rights and responsibilities of spouses as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution. In the case of dissolution, provision shall be made for the necessary protection of any children.
    • Article 24.
      • 1. Every child shall have, without any discrimination as to race, colour, sex, language, religion, national or social origin, property or birth, the right to such measures of protection as are required by his status as a minor, on the part of his family, society and the State.
      • 2. Every child shall be registered immediately after birth and shall have a name.
      • 3. Every child has the right to acquire a nationality.

  • International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966)
    • Article 7. The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to the enjoyment of just and favourable conditions of work which ensure, in particular:
      • (a) Remuneration which provides all workers, as a minimum, with:
        • (ii) A decent living for themselves and their families in accordance with the provisions of the present Covenant;
    • Article 10. The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize that:
      • 1. The widest possible protection and assistance should be accorded to the family, which is the natural and fundamental group unit of society, particularly for its establishment and while it is responsible for the care and education of dependent children. Marriage must be entered into with the free consent of the intending spouses.
      • 2. Special protection should be accorded to mothers during a reasonable period before and after childbirth. During such period working mothers should be accorded paid leave or leave with adequate social security benefits.
      • 3. Special measures of protection and assistance should be taken on behalf of all children and young persons without any discrimination for reasons of parentage or other conditions. Children and young persons should be protected from economic and social exploitation. Their employment in work harmful to their morals or health or dangerous to life or likely to hamper their normal development should be punishable by law. States should also set age limits below which the paid employment of child labour should be prohibited and punishable by law.
    • Article 11.
      • 1. The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions. The States Parties will take appropriate steps to ensure the realization of this right, recognizing to this effect the essential importance of international co-operation based on free consent.
    • Article 12.
      • 1. The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.
      • 2. The steps to be taken by the States Parties to the present Covenant to achieve the full realization of this right shall include those necessary for:
        • (a) The provision for the reduction of the stillbirth-rate and of infant mortality and for the healthy development of the child;
    • Article 13.
      • 1. The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to education. They agree that education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and the sense of its dignity, and shall strengthen the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. They further agree that education shall enable all persons to participate effectively in a free society, promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations and all racial, ethnic or religious groups, and further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
      • 3. The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to have respect for the liberty of parents and, when applicable, legal guardians to choose for their children schools, other than those established by the public authorities, which conform to such minimum educational standards as may be laid down or approved by the State and to ensure the religious and moral education of their children in conformity with their own convictions.

  • U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989)
    • Article 2.
      • 1. States Parties shall respect and ensure the rights set forth in the present Convention to each child within their jurisdiction without discrimination of any kind, irrespective of the child's or his or her parent's or legal guardian's race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national, ethnic or social origin, property, disability, birth or other status.
      • 2. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that the child is protected against all forms of discrimination or punishment on the basis of the status, activities, expressed opinions, or beliefs of the child's parents, legal guardians, or family members.
    • Article 5. States Parties shall respect the responsibilities, rights and duties of parents or, where applicable, the members of the extended family or community as provided for by local custom, legal guardians or other persons legally responsible for the child, to provide, in a manner consistent with the evolving capacities of the child, appropriate direction and guidance in the exercise by the child of the rights recognized in the present Convention.
    • Article 7.
      • 1. The child shall be registered immediately after birth and shall have the right from birth to a name, the right to acquire a nationality and. as far as possible, the right to know and be cared for by his or her parents.
    • Article 8.
      • 1. States Parties undertake to respect the right of the child to preserve his or her identity, including nationality, name and family relations as recognized by law without unlawful interference.
    • Article 9.
      • 1. States Parties shall ensure that a child shall not be separated from his or her parents against their will, except when competent authorities subject to judicial review determine, in accordance with applicable law and procedures, that such separation is necessary for the best interests of the child. Such determination may be necessary in a particular case such as one involving abuse or neglect of the child by the parents, or one where the parents are living separately and a decision must be made as to the child's place of residence.
    • Article 10.
      • 1. In accordance with the obligation of States Parties under article 9, paragraph 1, applications by a child or his or her parents to enter or leave a State Party for the purpose of family reunification shall be dealt with by States Parties in a positive, humane and expeditious manner. States Parties shall further ensure that the submission of such a request shall entail no adverse consequences for the applicants and for the members of their family.
      • 2. A child whose parents reside in different States shall have the right to maintain on a regular basis, save in exceptional circumstances personal relations and direct contacts with both parents. Towards that end and in accordance with the obligation of States Parties under article 9, paragraph 1, States Parties shall respect the right of the child and his or her parents to leave any country, including their own, and to enter their own country. The right to leave any country shall be subject only to such restrictions as are prescribed by law and which are necessary to protect the national security, public order (ordre public), public health or morals or the rights and freedoms of others and are consistent with the other rights recognized in the present Convention.
    • Article 16.
      • 1. No child shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his or her privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to unlawful attacks on his or her honour and reputation.
    • Article 20.
      • 1. A child temporarily or permanently deprived of his or her family environment, or in whose own best interests cannot be allowed to remain in that environment, shall be entitled to special protection and assistance provided by the State.
      • 3. Such care could include, inter alia, foster placement, kafalah of Islamic law, adoption or if necessary placement in suitable institutions for the care of children. When considering solutions, due regard shall be paid to the desirability of continuity in a child's upbringing and to the child's ethnic, religious, cultural and linguistic background.
    • Article 21. States Parties that recognize and/or permit the system of adoption shall ensure that the best interests of the child shall be the paramount consideration and they shall:
      • (a) Ensure that the adoption of a child is authorized only by competent authorities who determine, in accordance with applicable law and procedures and on the basis of all pertinent and reliable information, that the adoption is permissible in view of the child's status concerning parents, relatives and legal guardians and that, if required, the persons concerned have given their informed consent to the adoption on the basis of such counseling as may be necessary;
      • (b) Recognize that inter-country adoption may be considered as an alternative means of child's care, if the child cannot be placed in a foster or an adoptive family or cannot in any suitable manner be cared for in the child's country of origin;
    • Article 22.
      • 1. States Parties shall take appropriate measures to ensure that a child who is seeking refugee status or who is considered a refugee in accordance with applicable international or domestic law and procedures shall, whether unaccompanied or accompanied by his or her parents or by any other person, receive appropriate protection and humanitarian assistance in the enjoyment of applicable rights set forth in the present Convention and in other international human rights or humanitarian instruments to which the said States are Parties.
      • 2. For this purpose, States Parties shall provide, as they consider appropriate, co-operation in any efforts by the United Nations and other competent intergovernmental organizations or non-governmental organizations co-operating with the United Nations to protect and assist such a child and to trace the parents or other members of the family of any refugee child in order to obtain information necessary for reunification with his or her family. In cases where no parents or other members of the family can be found, the child shall be accorded the same protection as any other child permanently or temporarily deprived of his or her family environment for any reason , as set forth in the present Convention.
    • Article 37. States Parties shall ensure that:
      • (c) Every child deprived of liberty shall be treated with humanity and respect for the inherent dignity of the human person, and in a manner which takes into account the needs of persons of his or her age. In particular, every child deprived of liberty shall be separated from adults unless it is considered in the child's best interest not to do so and shall have the right to maintain contact with his or her family through correspondence and visits, save in exceptional circumstances;

INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW (RULES OF WAR & BELLIGERENT OCCUPATION):

  • Hague Conventions (IV) Respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land (1907)
    • Article 46. Family honour and rights, the lives of persons, and private property, as well as religious convictions and practice, must be respected.

      Private property cannot be confiscated.

  • Geneva Convention (IV) Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (1949)
    • Article 14. In time of peace, the High Contracting Parties and, after the outbreak of hostilities, the Parties thereto, may establish in their own territory and, if the need arises, in occupied areas, hospital and safety zones and localities so organized as to protect from the effects of war, wounded, sick and aged persons, children under fifteen, expectant mothers and mothers of children under seven.
    • Article 17. The Parties to the conflict shall endeavour to conclude local agreements for the removal from besieged or encircled areas, of wounded, sick, infirm, and aged persons, children and maternity cases, and for the passage of ministers of all religions, medical personnel and medical equipment on their way to such areas.
    • Article 23. Each High Contracting Party shall allow the free passage of all consignments of medical and hospital stores and objects necessary for religious worship intended only for civilians of another High Contracting Party, even if the latter is its adversary. It shall likewise permit the free passage of all consignments of essential foodstuffs, clothing and tonics intended for children under fifteen, expectant mothers and maternity cases.
    • Article 24. The Parties to the conflict shall take the necessary measures to ensure that children under fifteen, who are orphaned or are separated from their families as a result of the war, are not left to their own resources, and that their maintenance, the exercise of their religion and their education are facilitated in all circumstances. Their education shall, as far as possible, be entrusted to persons of a similar cultural tradition.
    • Article 25. All persons in the territory of a Party to the conflict, or in a territory occupied by it, shall be enabled to give news of a strictly personal nature to members of their families, wherever they may be, and to receive news from them. This correspondence shall be forwarded speedily and without undue delay.
    • Article 26. Each Party to the conflict shall facilitate enquiries made by members of families dispersed owing to the war, with the object of renewing contact with one another and of meeting, if possible. It shall encourage, in particular, the work of organizations engaged on this task provided they are acceptable to it and conform to its security regulations.
    • Article 27. Protected persons are entitled, in all circumstances, to respect for their persons, their honour, their family rights, their religious convictions and practices, and their manners and customs. They shall at all times be humanely treated, and shall be protected especially against all acts of violence or threats thereof and against insults and public curiosity.
    • Article 38. With the exception of special measures authorized by the present Convention, in particularly by Article 27 and 41 thereof, the situation of protected persons shall continue to be regulated, in principle, by the provisions concerning aliens in time of peace. In any case, the following rights shall be granted to them:
      • (5) children under fifteen years, pregnant women and mothers of children under seven years shall benefit by any preferential treatment to the same extent as the nationals of the State concerned.
    • Article 49. Individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory to the territory of the Occupying Power or to that of any other country, occupied or not, are prohibited, regardless of their motive.

      Nevertheless, the Occupying Power may undertake total or partial evacuation of a given area if the security of the population or imperative military reasons so demand. Such evacuations may not involve the displacement of protected persons outside the bounds of the occupied territory except when for material reasons it is impossible to avoid such displacement. Persons thus evacuated shall be transferred back to their homes as soon as hostilities in the area in question have ceased.

      The Occupying Power undertaking such transfers or evacuations shall ensure, to the greatest practicable extent, that proper accommodation is provided to receive the protected persons, that the removals are effected in satisfactory conditions of hygiene, health, safety and nutrition, and that members of the same family are not separated.

    • Article 50. The Occupying Power shall, with the cooperation of the national and local authorities, facilitate the proper working of all institutions devoted to the care and education of children.

      The Occupying Power shall take all necessary steps to facilitate the identification of children and the registration of their parentage. It may not, in any case, change their personal status, nor enlist them in formations or organizations subordinate to it.

    • Article 82. The Detaining Power shall, as far as possible, accommodate the internees according to their nationality, language and customs. Internees who are nationals of the same country shall not be separated merely because they have different languages.

      Throughout the duration of their internment, members of the same family, and in particular parents and children, shall be lodged together in the same place of internment, except when separation of a temporary nature is necessitated for reasons of employment or health or for the purposes of enforcement of the provisions of Chapter IX of the present Section. Internees may request that their children who are left at liberty without parental care shall be interned with them.

      Wherever possible, interned members of the same family shall be housed in the same premises and given separate accommodation from other internees, together with facilities for leading a proper family life.

    • Article 89. Daily food rations for internees shall be sufficient in quantity, quality and variety to keep internees in a good state of health and prevent the development of nutritional deficiencies. Account shall also be taken of the customary diet of the internees.

      Expectant and nursing mothers and children under fifteen years of age, shall be given additional food, in proportion to their physiological needs.

    • Article 94. The Detaining Power shall encourage intellectual, educational and recreational pursuits, sports and games amongst internees, whilst leaving them free to take part in them or not. It shall take all practicable measures to ensure the exercice thereof, in particular by providing suitable premises.

      All possible facilities shall be granted to internees to continue their studies or to take up new subjects. The education of children and young people shall be ensured; they shall be allowed to attend schools either within the place of internment or outside.

    • Article 106. As soon as he is interned, or at the latest not more than one week after his arrival in a place of internment, and likewise in cases of sickness or transfer to another place of internment or to a hospital, every internee shall be enabled to send direct to his family, on the one hand, and to the Central Agency provided for by Article 140, on the other, an internment card similar, if possible, to the model annexed to the present Convention, informing his relatives of his detention, address and state of health. The said cards shall be forwarded as rapidly as possible and may not be delayed in any way.
    • Article 132. Each interned person shall be released by the Detaining Power as soon as the reasons which necessitated his internment no longer exist.

      The Parties to the conflict shall, moreover, endeavour during the course of hostilities, to conclude agreements for the release, the repatriation, the return to places of residence or the accommodation in a neutral country of certain classes of internees, in particular children, pregnant women and mothers with infants and young children, wounded and sick, and internees who have been detained for a long time.

  • Geneva Convention (Protocol I) Relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (1977)
    • Article 70. Relief actions
      • 1. If the civilian population of any territory under the control of a Party to the conflict, other than occupied territory, is not adequately provided with the supplies mentioned in Article 69, relief actions which are humanitarian and impartial in character and conducted without any adverse distinction shall be undertaken, subject to the agreement of the Parties concerned in such relief actions. Offers of such relief shall not be regarded as interference in the armed conflict or as unfriendly acts. In the distribution of relief consignments, priority shall be given to those persons, such as children, expectant mothers, maternity cases and nursing mothers, who, under the Fourth Convention or under this Protocol, are to be accorded privileged treatment or special protection.
    • Article 74. Reunion of dispersed families - The High Contracting Parties and the Parties to the conflict shall facilitate in every possible way the reunion of families dispersed as a result of armed conflicts and shall encourage in particular the work of the humanitarian organizations engaged in this task in accordance with the provisions of the Conventions and of this Protocol and in conformity with their respective security regulations.
    • Article 75. Fundamental guarantees
      • 5. Women whose liberty has been restricted for reasons related to the armed conflict shall be held in quarters separated from men's quarters. They shall be under the immediate supervision of women. Nevertheless, in cases where families are detained or interned, they shall, whenever possible, be held in the same place and accommodated as family units.
    • Article 76. Protection of women
      • 1. Women shall be the object of special respect and shall be protected in particular against rape, forced prostitution and any other form of indecent assault.
      • 2. Pregnant women and mothers having dependent infants who are arrested, detained or interned for reasons related to the armed conflict, shall have their cases considered with the utmost priority.
      • 3. To the maximum extent feasible, the Parties to the conflict shall endeavour to avoid the pronouncement of the death penalty on pregnant women or mothers having dependent infants, for an offence related to the armed conflict. The death penalty for such offences shall not be executed on such women.
    • Article 77. Protection of children
      • 1. Children shall be the object of special respect and shall be protected against any form of indecent assault. The Parties to the conflict shall provide them with the care and aid they require, whether because of their age or for any other reason.
      • 2. The Parties to the conflict shall take all feasible measures in order that children who have not attained the age of fifteen years do not take a direct part in hostilities and, in particular, they shall refrain from recruiting them into their armed forces. In recruiting among those persons who have attained the age of fifteen years but who have not attained the age of eighteen years the Parties to the conflict shall endeavour to give priority to those who are oldest.
      • 3. If, in exceptional cases, despite the provisions of paragraph 2, children who have not attained the age of fifteen years take a direct part in hostilities and fall into the power of an adverse Party, they shall continue to benefit from the special protection accorded by this Article, whether or not they are prisoners of war.
      • 4. If arrested, detained or interned for reasons related to the armed conflict, children shall be held in quarters separate from the quarters of adults, except where families are accommodated as family units as provided in Article 75, paragraph 5.
      • 5 . The death penalty for an offence related to the armed conflict shall not be executed on persons who had not attained the age of eighteen years at the time the offence was committed.
    • Article 78. Evacuation of children
      • 1. No Party to the conflict shall arrange for the evacuation of children, other than its own nationals, to a foreign country except for a temporary evacuation where compelling reasons of the health or medical treatment of the children or, except in occupied territory, their safety, so require. Where the parents or legal guardians can be found, their written consent to such evacuation is required. If these persons cannot be found, the written consent to such evacuation of the persons who by law or custom are primarily responsible for the care of the children is required. Any such evacuation shall be supervised by the Protecting Power in agreement with the Parties concerned, namely, the Party arranging for the evacuation, the Party receiving the children and any Parties whose nationals are being evacuated. In each case, all Parties to the conflict shall take all feasible precautions to avoid endangering the evacuation.
      • 2. Whenever an evacuation occurs pursuant to paragraph 1, each child's education, including his religious and moral education as his parents desire, shall be provided while he is away with the greatest possible continuity.
      • 3. With a view to facilitating the return to their families and country of children evacuated pursuant to this Article, the authorities of the Party arranging for the evacuation and, as appropriate, the authorities of the receiving country shall establish for each child a card with photographs, which they shall send to the Central Tracing Agency of the International Committee of the Red Cross. Each card shall bear, whenever possible, and whenever it involves no risk of harm to the child...

  • Geneva Convention (Protocol II) Relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts (1977)
    • Article 4 Fundamental guarantees
      • 3. Children shall be provided with the care and aid they require, and in particular:
        • (a) they shall receive an education, including religious and moral education, in keeping with the wishes of their parents, or in the absence of parents, of those responsible for their care;
        • (b) all appropriate steps shall be taken to facilitate the reunion of families temporarily separated;
        • (c) children who have not attained the age of fifteen years shall neither be recruited in the armed forces or groups nor allowed to take part in hostilities;
        • (d) the special protection provided by this Article to children who have not attained the age of fifteen years shall remain applicable to them if they take a direct part in hostilities despite the provisions of subparagraph (c) and are captured;
        • (e) measures shall be taken, if necessary, and whenever possible with the consent of their parents or persons who by law or custom are primarily responsible for their care, to remove children temporarily from the area in which hostilities are taking place to a safer area within the country and ensure that they are accompanied by persons responsible for their safety and well-being.
      • Article 5. Persons whose liberty has been restricted
        • 2. Those who are responsible for the internment or detention of the persons referred to in paragraph 1 shall also, within the limits of their capabilities, respect the following provisions relating to such persons:
          • (a) except when men and women of a family are accommodated together, women shall be held in quarters separated from those of men and shall be under the immediate supervision of women;
          • (b) they shall be allowed to send and receive letters and cards, the number of which may be limited by competent authority if it deems necessary;
          • (c) places of internment and detention shall not be located close to the combat zone. The persons referred to in paragraph 1 shall be evacuated when the places where they are interned or detained become particularly exposed to danger arising out of the armed conflict, if their evacuation can be carried out under adequate conditions of safety;
          • (d) they shall have the benefit of medical examinations;
          • (e) their physical or mental health and integrity shall not be endangered by any unjustified act or omission. Accordingly, it is prohibited to subject the persons described in this Article to any medical procedure which is not indicated by the state of health of the person concerned, and which is not consistent with the generally accepted medical standards applied to free persons under similar medical circumstances.
      • Article 6. Penal prosecutions
        • 4. The death penalty shall not be pronounced on persons who were under the age of eighteen years at the time of the offence and shall not be carried out on pregnant women or mothers of young children.

REFERENCES

Any comments, suggestions, or questons are most welcomed. Please contact us at info@israellawresourcecenter.org

(C) Israel Law Resource Center, February, 2007.

1