Oct. 24th, 2023
To the Honorable António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations
Urgent Call for the Immediate Release of the Kidnapped Israeli Infants and Children
We, the undersigned child advocates, experts in child welfare, rights, trauma, and psychology, together with the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, call upon the UN, World Leaders, and the international community to demand the immediate release of the Israeli children kidnapped in the Hamas attack on Israeli communities on October 7, 2023.
In this attack, a confirmed number of 222 people were kidnapped, among them about 30 children. Six of these children are babies, some of them still nursing. Some of the abductees are in need of medication, special nutrition, or treatment.
The abductions were part of a larger, widespread, and cruel assault, resulting in the tragic loss of at least 1,300 lives and leaving thousands more with enduring physical and emotional wounds. Children and infants were subjected to unspeakable brutality and forced to witness the harrowing abuse and murder of their parents, grandparents, and siblings. These young souls endured prolonged hours of terror, often confined within the homes that had once been their sanctuaries. The agonizing experiences etched indelible scars upon their hearts and minds, shaping their lives in ways we can scarcely imagine. The infants and children who were brutally abducted from their families, deprived of the comforting presence of a supportive companion, were thrust into a world already fraught with the profound grief and trauma stemming from the events they had witnessed. Their pain will linger and they will carry the ordeal with them throughout their lives.
Time is swiftly slipping away, each passing day posing an imminent, existential peril to the lives and wellbeing of these vulnerable infants and children. Clinical testimonies worldwide point to the devastating effects of abduction and captivity on children. The very basic foundation of security and protectiveness was savagely torn away from those infants and children. These children are now exposed to post-traumatic disorders (anxiety, intrusive thoughts, nightmares), emotional problems (fears, difficulties with trusting and bonding, impaired emotional development), harsh behavioral problems (social aversion, developmental delay), and cognitive damage (memory loss, learning difficulties). These non-reversible outcomes will affect their entire lives. Every day, every hour, every minute spent in captivity leaves its lifetime mark on the souls and bodies of the children and deepens their injury into continued and irreparable damage. The longer these children are being imprisoned, the harsher the outcomes that will adversely impact their lives.
Any injury to children in warfare is terrible and intolerable. Children must be protected from violent struggles involving states, groups, and nations. This applies to children in Israel and in Gaza, who have all suffered from the conflict for years. But this brutal heinous attack targeting children, including their torture and abduction, marks an entirely new level of violence because the children were the intended target of the attack. It is the worst imaginable crime against humanity and the grimmest violation of basic principles of morality.
International Law also imposes a special obligation on nations and organizations to act immediately. Holding civilians hostage is a gross violation of the law of armed conflict [Common Article 3] and constitutes a war crime. The widespread, intentional, and systematic attack on civilians constitutes a crime against humanity. Abduction and arbitrary, incommunicado detention constitute a violation of every relevant international standard set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, whose core also applies to non-state actors like Hamas, as well as in other relevant international instruments accepted by Palestine. The latter include, but are not limited to the Convention on the Rights of the Child articles 6 (right to life and development), 9 (non-separation from parents), 19 (protection from violence of all kinds), as well as relevant provisions in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention Against Torture, and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
We entreat you to take the strongest action within your means right now and use all available levers to secure the release of the kidnapped infants and children. Among them are Kfir, a 9-month-old baby still breastfeeding, and Avigail, a 3-year-old who witnessed the savage murder of her parents.
Each passing minute that a child remains in captivity is a moment when our collective humanity hangs in the balance. We beseech leaders worldwide to unite in the common cause of releasing these kidnapped children, as a small initial step toward restoring our shared humanity. The fragile and vulnerable lives of these infants and children are inextricably intertwined with our actions and yours. Will we forsake them to endure torment, fear, and harm beyond repair or will we rise to the occasion and rescue them from this dire predicament?
Sincerely,
Prof. Naama Atzaba-Poria, Chair, Duet Center and the Department of Psychology, BenGurion University of the Negev, Israel.
Dr. Shelly Aviv Yeini, Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
Prof. Asher Ben-Arieh, Dean, The Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel.
Prof. Tali Gal, Chair, Child and Youth Rights, Faculty of Law, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel.
Prof. Tzipi Horowitz-Kraus, Faculty of Education in Science and Technology and Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, Technion- Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Prof. Judith Lewis Herman, Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School.
Prof. Alicia F. Lieberman, Irving B. Harris Endowed Chair in Infant Mental Health, UCSF Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, Director, Child Trauma Research Program.
Prof. Tirtsa Joels, Head, Interdisciplinary MA and Ph.D. Program in Child Development, School of Psychology Sciences, University of Haifa, Israel.
Prof. Carmit Katz, School of Social Work, Tel Aviv University, Israel.
Prof. Olga Khazova, former member of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.
Dr. Cigal Knei-Paz, School of Social Work, Tel-Aviv University, Israel.
Dr. Hanita Kosher, The Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel.
Dr. Tamar Morag, Academic Director, Children’s and Youth Rights Clinical Program, Faculty of Law, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel.
Prof. Ariella Oppenheim, Faculty of Medicine, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel.
Prof. David Oppenheim, Head, Center for the Study of Child Development, School of Psychological Sciences, University of Haifa, Israel.
Prof. Lotem Perry-Hazan, Adv., Faculty of Education, University of Haifa, Israel.
Dr. Shiran Reichenberg, Executive Director, Clinical Legal Education Center, Faculty of Law, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel Saviona Rotlevy, Judge (ret).
Prof. Avi Sagi-Schwartz, Professor of Psychology and Child Development, School of Psychological Sciences, University of Haifa, Israel.
Prof. Tomer Shechner, School of Psychological Sciences, University of Haifa, Israel.
Prof. Benjamin Shmueli, Dean of Students, Faculty of Law, Bar-Ilan University, Israel.
Adv. Vered Windman, Executive Director, Israel National Council for the Child.
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For the full list of over one thousand signatories – click here