The change does not mean UNICEF will ignore Palestinian child welfare. “Our organization will continue to act as assiduously as ever in denouncing Israel.”
New York, May 23 – The foremost world body dedicated to promoting the welfare of children and preventing their abuse issued an announcement today making official a policy of not including Palestinian in populations the organization targets in its efforts to keep minors from being drafted into military service.
A spokesman for the United Nations Children’s Fund, also known as UNICEF, convened a press conference Thursday morning to make known an important amendment to the organization’s guiding principles, which to date have mandated an effort to root out the phenomenon of child soldiers everywhere. Now, however, UNICEF has made a formal a longtime exception to its official mandate, whereby the body turns a blind eye to the use of child soldiers by Palestinian militants.
“It’s about time we make sure our official policies and what we are doing on the ground match,” stated Deputy Director Wilstil Hetjouz. “This will help prevent confusion, not to mention embarrassment, when observers, critics, or funding providers contrast our stated goals with our actual activities in the field.”
Mr. Hetjouz assured those present that the change does not mean UNICEF will ignore Palestinian child welfare. “Our organization will continue to act as assiduously as ever in denouncing Israel for anything that has a negative impact on Palestinian children,” he vowed. “That has been our practice for a very long time already, and will not change. Lest anyone think UNICEF will disregard the harm done to Palestinian children in combat, we hereby inform you that no such omission will occur – it will simply fall under the category of crimes by Israel. To UNICEF, it is a mere technicality that Hamas or allied groups recruit children to fight or serve as human shields; we hold only Israel responsible, consistent with the attitude and history of every other United Nations body.”
Experts noted that holding Palestinians responsible for the use of their children as soldiers violates a central tenet of international treatment of the Palestinian issue. “Assigning any volition to Palestinians goes against the ethos of the organization, as well as that of numerous others in the same field,” explained Stan Dartkaful. “It would be the height of hypocrisy and inconsistency to suddenly hold them accountable for using children in combat. No, everything has to be traced back to something Israeli did or does: blockade, dispersing protesters, just in general defending itself. Those are unforgivable crimes, and they’ve gone unchecked by the international community far too long.”
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