Accountability for Gaza: Updates on Domestic and International Legal Efforts

with

Nadia Ben-Youssef
Lawyer & Human Rights Advocate – USA Representative for Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel

&

Brad Parker
Staff Attorney & International Advocacy Officer – Defense for Children International Palestine

Thursday, 16 April 2015
1:00 – 2:00 p.m.
The Palestine Center

This event will present ongoing domestic and international efforts to achieve accountability for “Operation Protective Edge,” the massive Israeli military offensive on Gaza in the summer of 2014 that killed over 2,000 Palestinians, including over 500 children. The discussion will bring together human rights defenders from Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, and Defense for Children International Palestine to share key updates from the ground and provide insight into their engagement with international mechanisms. Nadia Ben-Youssef and Brad Parker will discuss their legal work on behalf of victims in Gaza, highlight failures of domestic accountability in Israel, and share international advocacy strategies.

Nadia Ben-Youssef is a lawyer and human rights advocate serving as the first USA Representative for Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel. Her work aims to raise awareness of the institutional discrimination against Palestinian citizens Israel as well as violations promote compliance with international human rights and humanitarian law. After four years in the Negev in southern Israel leading Adalah’s international advocacy efforts on behalf of the Bedouin community, she is now developing Adalah’s U.S. advocacy strategy to shape American discourse and influence American policy and practice towards a human rights-based approach in Israel/Palestine. Nadia holds a BA in Sociology from Princeton University, and J.D. from Boston College Law School.

Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel is a legal center and an independent human rights organization based in Israel. Established in 1996, Adalah uses Israeli legal channels to protect and promote the rights of Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel, who make up 20% of the population, as well as Palestinian residents of the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The organization regularly brings cases to the Israeli Supreme Court, and also engages in international advocacy at the UN, EU and recently, in the United States. For more information, visit www.adalah.org/eng.

Brad Parker is a staff attorney and international advocacy officer at Defense for Children International Palestine. He specializes in issues of juvenile justice and grave violations against children during armed conflict, and leads DCI-Palestine’s legal advocacy efforts on Palestinian children’s rights. Parker regularly writes and speaks on the situation of Palestinian children in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, particularly issues involving detention, ill-treatment and torture of child detainees within the Israeli military detention system and violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law. He leads DCIP’s US Program and is a graduate of the University of Vermont and received his J.D. from the City University of New York School of Law.

Defense for Children International Palestine is an independent, local Palestinian child rights organization based in Ramallah dedicated to defending and promoting the rights of children living in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. For over 20 years, we have investigated, documented and pursued accountability for grave human rights violations against children; held Israeli and Palestinian authorities accountable to universal human rights principles; and advocated at the international and national levels to advance access to justice and protection for children. We also provide direct legal aid to children in distress. For more information visit www.dci-palestine.org.