Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made a recent assessment of the implications for his policies of the Government of Israel’s level of compliance with the recommendations made in UNICEF’s report entitled Children in Israeli Military Detention: Observations and recommendations, published in 2003.

The UK draws on a wide range of sources when assessing human rights issues in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs). We have a regular dialogue with Israel on legal issues relating to the occupation, including the treatment of Palestinian children. We have issues about Israel's extensive use of administrative detention which, according to international law, should be used only when security makes this absolutely necessary. The Israeli authorities must comply with their obligations under international law and either charge or release detainees. We remain committed to working with the Israeli government to secure improvements to the practices surrounding children in detention and continue to raise this with the Israeli Ministry of Justice through our embassy in Tel Aviv. The Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, also frequently meets with charities and NGOs regarding issues relating to the occupation. He most recently discussed child detention in a meeting with representatives of Save The Children, Oxfam GB, Medical Aid for Palestinians and Christian Aid on 4 July.