Protecting Palestinian children from political violence.The role of the international community. Forced Migration Policy Briefing 5

Drawing on extensive field and desk research, this study considers the role of international and UN organisations in protecting Palestinian children. Four distinguishing features of a rights-based approach to child protection are identified: the prioritisation of child protection over national self-interest, a focus on causes and not merely effects, the need for political engagement around international legal standards, and the mobilisation of public opinion. The report concludes that international and UN organisations have allowed their protection efforts to stray a significant distance from this approach. It traces such divergence through consideration of conceptual, institutional and political factors.