UNICEF’s role in Israel and the State of Palestine
Frequently asked questions on our humanitarian mandate to aid children suffering through unprecedented catastrophe
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1. What is UNICEF’s humanitarian role during armed conflict?
2. What are the universal humanitarian principles that guide UNICEF’s operations and advocacy?
3. Why does UNICEF refer to “parties to conflict” without calling them by name?
6. How does UNICEF decide which images of children to publish online?
7. How does UNICEF operate in Israel?
8. How does UNICEF operate in the State of Palestine?
9. What is UNICEF’s response to reports that aid is not reaching all those it intends to?
10. What measures does UNICEF have in place to prevent aid diversion?
11. What is UNICEF’s humanitarian role within the wider United Nations system?
1. What is UNICEF’s humanitarian role during armed conflict?
UNICEF’s humanitarian mandate is to help alleviate the suffering of children, no matter who they are or where they live.
In certain situations, when resources are readily available to meet children’s needs during an emergency, we do this by offering guidance and support to decision-makers on the ground. In others, we mobilize UNICEF staff and supplies, in collaboration with governments and partners, to provide direct assistance.
UNICEF aims to deliver critical aid to children caught in crisis, as set forth in international humanitarian and human rights law, including the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child. Ratified by nearly every country, the convention underpins UNICEF’s work in any context. In armed conflicts, it complements the universal principles that guide our humanitarian operations and advocacy.
UNICEF has been operating impartially and neutrally since 1946. Then, our mandate was to reach children on all sides of the war, regardless of the role their country played in fighting. Today, that mission remains the same. Impartial by procedure, we’re never neutral when it comes to aiding children in need.
2. What are the universal humanitarian principles that guide UNICEF’s operations and advocacy?
As an operational humanitarian organization, UNICEF holds itself accountable to the principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence. We aim to uphold these universal principles in every context, by action and by word.
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Humanity: Human suffering must be addressed wherever it is found. The purpose of humanitarian action is to save lives, protect health and ensure respect for human beings. UNICEF seeks to assist and protect every vulnerable child, treating each with dignity and respect.
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Impartiality: UNICEF allocates and delivers assistance based on needs and without discrimination for nationality, ethnicity, race, age, sex, language, disability, religious belief, class, sexual orientation, gender identity, political opinions or other.
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Neutrality: UNICEF refrains from engaging in controversies of a political, racial, religious or ideological nature, and does not take sides in hostilities.
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Independence: Humanitarian action must be autonomous from the political, economic, military or other objectives that any actor may hold with regard to areas where humanitarian action is implemented. UNICEF is independent of political, economic, military, security or other objectives.
Humanitarian principles are critical to fulfill our United Nations mandate. They guide UNICEF’s programmatic and operational decisions, while earning frontline workers the trust of the communities we seek to serve. In dangerous environments – and especially during armed conflict – the security of humanitarian workers depends on the acceptance of those involved in fighting. We cannot reach children without this.
Our humanitarian policies and advocacy follow the same principles. UNICEF is mandated to promote and protect the rights of all children, guided primarily by the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocols, as well as international humanitarian law. Humanitarian advocacy includes promoting adherence to international and regional legal norms, standards and principles.
UNICEF’s commitment to humanitarian principles has kept us operational in complex situations since our founding. Today, we’re on the ground in over 190 countries. Neutral and impartial, we’re never indifferent when it comes to caring for children.
3. Why does UNICEF refer to “parties to conflict” without calling them by name?
UNICEF’s mandate in any conflict is to help protect children’s rights and alleviate their suffering. This means calling on those involved in fighting to abide by their obligations under international law, in the manner experience has shown to serve the best interests of children caught in hostilities. It also means working to reach those children with life-saving aid, no matter who holds power where their families live.
As a humanitarian agency, UNICEF must ensure aid workers can access children on every side of violence, while minimizing security concerns for on-the-ground operations. Protecting humanitarian access requires open lines of communication with all involved in fighting.
In complex and dangerous environments, public denunciation of any party to conflict can risk cutting UNICEF’s lines of communication with those parties. More urgently, it can threaten the safety and security of children and aid workers. As a matter of principle, we prioritize the services our humanitarian staff provide to children, as well as the safety of those staff on the ground.
Any engagement with armed forces or armed groups – as needed to sustain humanitarian operations or press parties to comply with their responsibilities to protect children – is initiated in accordance with humanitarian guidelines for civil-military coordination.
In line with our Core Commitments for Children, UNICEF also collects reports of grave violations against children in conflict-affected countries. We do this in coordination with other UN agencies to advance advocacy efforts to end and prevent violations against children, and to inform emergency programming. UNICEF does not have the mandate to investigate violations of international law, nor to make legal determinations about those responsible for violations.
When we do speak out publicly, we do so in line with humanitarian principles. Our aim is to focus the world’s attention not on the causes of conflict, but on the consequences for children. The only side we take in war is theirs.
4. Does UNICEF’s commitment to neutrality and other humanitarian principles prevent it from speaking up against violations of children’s rights?
No. UNICEF will continue to speak out against violations of children’s rights, including grave violations committed against children on every side of violence. Our mandate is to conduct humanitarian advocacy for sustained, unimpeded access to all children in need, and to do so in line with humanitarian principles. How and where we speak out is determined by risk assessments that prioritize the ability of humanitarian workers and emergency supplies to reach children caught in conflict.
Children bear no responsibility for war. We persist in pressing world leaders on every occasion to abide by their obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law, which afford children special protections in any circumstance.
5. Has UNICEF spoken out on the violations committed against children in Israel and the State of Palestine?
Yes. In public and behind closed doors, UNICEF has spoken out on the violations committed against children in Israel and the State of Palestine unequivocally, consistently and since the earliest days.
Even wars have rules. The killing and maiming of children is a grave violation condemned by the United Nations Security Council. Attacks on schools and hospitals are grave violations. The abduction of children – as an intentional act of violence or retaliation, to instill fear among populations, to sexually abuse children, and in absolutely any other circumstance – is a grave violation. The denial of humanitarian access to children is a grave violation.
We condemn every violation committed against children throughout this crisis: Armed conflict inflicts the most severe and heinous harm on them. Deprived of fundamental human rights, children living through war are also exposed to unconscionable forms of violence, including sexual violence – a grave violation – unlawful arrest, and detention.
We appeal to world leaders, from the start of this catastrophe through today: Children on every side of fighting must be protected from further suffering. In any circumstance, at all times, they must not come under attack.
Public statements on violations against children in Gaza
From the earliest days of escalating hostilities in the Gaza Strip, UNICEF has unequivocally called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. Like many others, we have pleaded for the killing of children to stop. Like many others, we have pleaded for an end to the bombardment of schools, hospitals and other civilian infrastructure. Like many others, we have pleaded for the opening of all access crossings into the Gaza Strip, and for the safe, unimpeded movement of humanitarian workers and supplies across Gaza.
But today, the Gaza Strip is the most dangerous place in the world to be a child. And when fighting ends, it will likely remain that way – with the heaviest concentration of unexploded ordnance expected on the planet.
Public statements on violations against children in Israel
UNICEF calls for the immediate, safe and unconditional release of all Israeli and foreign hostages being held captive in Gaza – children, women and men. Hostage-taking is a war crime, prohibited by international humanitarian law in all circumstances. Every hostage must be released immediately and safely. Release must not be made conditional on any other demand.
UNICEF has publicly pressed for the release of hostages since 9 October and will continue to do so through private advocacy and public statements. As of 4 December, UNICEF has called for the release of abducted Israeli children in over 100 public statements, remarks and interviews with press, as well as across social media. We have reiterated these demands at the Security Council, imploring the adoption of a resolution that includes the release of all abducted children.
UNICEF senior officials have also travelled to Gaza, the West Bank and Israel to meet with the families of victims and press for humanitarian action for child survivors of all violations.
For more information on UNICEF’s work to help protect children during humanitarian crises, read on.
6. How does UNICEF decide which images of children to publish online?
Reporting on children living through war, conflict and other forms of violence risks exposing them to further harm. When making decisions on if and how to share a child’s story or imagery, UNICEF prioritizes the safety, dignity and best interests of that child above all other considerations, including advocacy. Children in imminent danger, especially, must be protected from the potential for retribution or exploitation.
UNICEF’s guidelines for ethical reporting on, and representation of, children and young people help protect them from the unintended, harmful consequences of media attention. For child survivors of abuse, this includes the possibility that a child may be re-traumatized by sharing her story, or stigmatized within her community.
All UNICEF staff have a duty to ensure their actions do not put children in danger. When any doubt exists over the potential for public communications to heighten a child’s risk of retribution, exploitation or harm, UNICEF will always err on the side of the child’s security.
7. How does UNICEF operate in Israel?
In high-income countries such as Israel, Governments generally have adequate capacity to respond to emergencies. Upon request from the Government, UNICEF can extend support, such as mental health and psychosocial support for children.
In over 30 countries where UNICEF does not perform programmatic activities, National Committees for UNICEF serve as our dedicated voice, helping to raise funds for UNICEF’s work worldwide, to promote children’s rights, and to lift visibility for children threatened by poverty, disasters, armed conflict, abuse and exploitation. The Israeli Fund for UNICEF was established in 2009 to raise awareness of children’s rights in Israel and fundraise for UNICEF’s life-saving work across the world.
8. How does UNICEF operate in the State of Palestine?
UNICEF has been supporting Palestinian children in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip since the early 1980’s. Following the establishment of the Palestinian Authority in 1994, UNICEF appointed its first Special Representative to serve Palestinian children.
With staff in Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, we work to fulfil children’s rights and provide them with critical services and care. Our teams help keep children connected to water and sanitation, education, health care and protection services, while supporting social policy programmes that shield children from the lifelong consequences of poverty and exclusion.
Learn more about UNICEF’s humanitarian response in Gaza here.
9. What is UNICEF’s response to reports that aid is not reaching all those it intends to?
UNICEF aid is not reaching all the children who urgently need it. Getting humanitarian supplies into and through Gaza is an intensive effort, subjected to extensive constraints.
Trucks carrying relief must undergo multiple layers of inspection before entering the Strip, with cargo increasingly rejected on unpredictable grounds. Items needed to repair and run water plants, like plastic pipes, have been banned with no clear justification. Critical medical supplies are similarly restricted.
Shortages of fuel and trucks only exacerbate complications at checkpoints: Many United Nations vehicles were destroyed or abandoned following our forced evacuation from northern Gaza. Of the 500 or so truckloads of goods transported to the Strip each day prior to 7 October, roughly a quarter are getting through now.
Drivers who do gain access must navigate impossible conditions. Rafah is a crossing point built for pedestrians, not trucks. Convoys are met with desperate, starving communities on the streets. Roads have been destroyed, routes strewn with unexploded ordnance.
Infrastructure for storing and transporting aid has also been damaged. Warehouses are unusable. Commercial supply lines no longer exist.
And communication blackouts continue to obstruct the coordination of delivery: UNICEF frequently loses contact with our teams on the ground. Families in Gaza have no means of learning where to access aid.
Many critical items cannot reach their intended distribution site.
Through it all, constant bombardment has choked some 85% of the population into uninhabitable slivers of land. UN shelters have long exceeded their capacity, and humanitarians have little record of where families have fled or sought refuge. There is no such thing as safety in Gaza. Convoys are coming under fire. Aid workers themselves have been displaced and killed, many alongside their families.
In response to reports that humanitarian aid is not reaching all those we intend it to, UNICEF affirms this. Delivery delays amount to a death sentence for children.
We’re providing medical kits, nutrition supplements, water supplies, tents, blankets, clothing and more. It’s not enough. Life-saving support remains stranded between protracted inspections and insufficient access corridors. UNICEF reiterates our call for a humanitarian ceasefire now.
10. What measures does UNICEF have in place to prevent aid diversion?
UNICEF’s primary focus is to ensure life-saving supplies reach children in need.
With decades of experience delivering aid in high-risk environments, we know that some proportion of relief items will inevitably be lost or damaged along the way. That’s why in Gaza, as in all emergency settings, we adopt a “no regrets” approach, adjusting operations to account for the highest cost of failure – extended suffering for children, and loss of life.
UNICEF’s measures to safeguard supplies include field monitoring conducted by our own staff and third-party contractors, real-time digital monitoring, high-frequency reporting from civil society partners on the ground, and community feedback mechanisms that allow families to contact us directly.
In Gaza, active conflict is constraining these measures. Roads, warehouses, and telecommunication infrastructure have been destroyed, curbing our ability to coordinate with partners. Aid workers themselves have been displaced, injured and killed. And network blackouts make it difficult for families to tell us what they urgently need for their children – or to receive information on how to access it.
Currently, UNICEF is reporting on the delivery of relief items up to warehouses and other distribution points in Gaza. We’re also monitoring all fuel and medical supplies en route to hospitals. For other aid, we conduct random sampling, subject to the security of our staff and partners. And when damage or shortages are reported, UNICEF reclaims losses through insurance to keep shipments moving.
The challenges of aid delivery in Gaza are many. The reasons to persist are more. We’ll continue to do everything we can to ensure our supplies reach children.
This means balancing risk management with aid criticality, in coordination with UN partners. An immediate humanitarian ceasefire would allow us, immediately, to strengthen monitoring and reporting mechanisms, and get more relief into children’s hands.
11. What is UNICEF’s humanitarian role within the wider United Nations system?
The United Nations was founded in the aftermath of World War II to bolster international peace and security and promote fundamental human rights. By mandate from the United Nations General Assembly, UNICEF works to protect the rights of children, in times of peace or crisis.
Our duty to protect underlies all others during armed conflict: UNICEF carries out emergency relief efforts, in coordination with United Nations partners and other humanitarian actors, to address children’s life-saving needs and help alleviate suffering. While this action reinforces that of other UN bodies – including those fulfilling mandates in peace, security and the rule of law – its central purpose remains the delivery of protective care. UNICEF stands with the United Nations Secretary-General, and our entire UN family, in support of all efforts to end conflict. On every side of violence, and in every way, it’s children who suffer first and foremost.
12. How do UNICEF and UNWRA work together in Gaza?
Everywhere we operate, UNICEF partners with civil society organizations and other aid agencies to help deliver more relief to more children. In Gaza, we work with UNWRA – the UN agency responsible for providing vital assistance to Palestine refugees in the State of Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria – to expand our reach.
UNICEF has long partnered with UNRWA to ensure children are prioritized across humanitarian operations. Our work together covers critical services that help protect children from disease, malnutrition and poverty, plus programmes for education and health care.
In Gaza, UNICEF is coordinating with UNWRA to provide safe drinking water to displaced families, treatment for severely malnourished children, medical supplies and vaccines for children in hospitals and shelters, and other life-saving items. We also partner on logistics for aid distribution, including the delivery of fuel needed to power water plants and hospitals.
Among our global workforce, UNICEF’s staff in Gaza comprise a small team with an immense responsibility. Facing insurmountable challenges and risks, they coordinate with UNICEF colleagues worldwide – from warehouse operators in Copenhagen, to programme managers in Amman – to keep an already-dire volume of aid flowing into a war zone. We cannot get our supplies to the hundreds of thousands of children in need without the resources, infrastructure and expertise of our UN partners and NGOs on the ground.
Any loss to UNWRA is a loss to the entire humanitarian response in Gaza. Children bear no responsibility for the unconscionable actions of adults, yet they are made to suffer the consequences.
13. What is UNICEF calling for?
UNICEF appeals for world leaders to abide by their obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law to protect children suffering through this unprecedented catastrophe. Children need a humanitarian ceasefire now. See all our calls for action here.
Learn more about UNICEF’s core commitments for children caught in conflict and other humanitarian crises.
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