Children’s Rights in the oPt: Tracing Responsibility for Violations and Charting Routes for Redress

Generations of Palestinians have grown up under the shadow of occupation. While manifesting in different ways in different parts of the territory, Palestinian children throughout the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) endure conditions of systematic oppression that fall woefully short of the nurturing environment to which all children are entitled.

This publication examines the right of children in the oPt to redress for the extensive harm they have suffered as a result of policies and recurring acts and omissions entailing violations of international humanitarian law (IHL) and international human rights law (IHRL). The right to redress is critical to safeguarding the totality of children’s rights and to enable children to reclaim their status as rights holders in the event of a violation. Yet, numerous barriers impede children in the oPt from accessing justice.

With this publication, the IHL Centre seeks to make a modest contribution to strengthening access to justice for children in the oPt by:

Cover photo: Children collect plastic from garbage during full moonlight over Khan Younis refugee camp in southern Gaza Strip, November 5, 2025. Doaa Albaz/ActiveStills Photo Collective. All rights reserved.