Rafto laureate DCIP forced to shut down its operations after systematic smear campaign
Defense for Children International – Palestine (DCIP) has announced it will shut down its operations after 35 years of work defending Palestinian children’s rights. DCIP has provided legal aid to hundreds of Palestinian children each year and documented violations including arbitrary detention, ill-treatment, and denial of due process. Its work ensured that children in military courts were not left without legal representation.
The organization’s closure follows years of delegitimization and disinformation campaigns against DCIP. When this failed to silence their work, Israeli authorities chose to escalate repressive tactics by labeling DCIP and other Palestinian civil society organizations as terrorists. Despite international human rights bodies and several European governments finding no evidence to support the Israeli government claims.
- The message this sends is deeply concerning. If we allow human rights defenders to be silenced, we also allow violations against children to continue unchecked and with no legal representation, says Jostein Hole Kobbeltvedt, Executive Director of The Rafto Foundation.
This designation has made it unsafe to operate. Children risk repercussions for seeking help. Staff face arrest and sanctions. Partners have been forced to withdraw. The Rafto Foundation warns that the suspension of DCIPs work has immediate and serious consequences for children who rely on legal protection and advocacy.
- The immediate consequence is clear: fewer protections for children facing serious human rights violations. Without organizations like DCIP, children risk facing detention and abuse without any form of legal support, Kobbeltvedt continues.
The struggle for Palestinian children is far from over. They continue to face the horrors of genocide, military arbitrary detention, torture, ill-treatment and the theft of their futures.
- While DCIP as an institution is ending, the 35 years of evidence we have gathered and the legal precedents we have set will remain. We call on the international community to use all available means to hold Israeli authorities accountable for targeted attacks and repression of Palestinian human rights defenders and to finally prioritize the lives of Palestinian children over political expediency, says DCIP in a statement on Facebook.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Ronja Bell Breisnes, Communications Advisor ronja.breisnes@rafto.no | +47 91519253
Contact information to Khaled Quzmar, General Director of Defense for Children International – Palestine, will be given by request.
Contact
Ronja Bell Breisnes
Communication Advisor| Means of contact | Contact details |
|---|---|
| Phone: | +47 91519253 |
| E-post: | ronja.breisnes@rafto.no |