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<p>The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, my right hon. Friend the
Member for Epsom and Ewell (Mr Grayling), raised the treatment of child detainees
with the Israeli Supreme Court President during his visit to Israel in May. The system
of summons started in February 2014. It has already shown initial success in decreasing
the number of children arrested at night. We intend to carry out further analysis
on this system over the coming months. As a recent progress report by the United Nations
Children's Fund (UNICEF) indicates, Israel has taken some positive steps towards addressing
the recommendations in UNICEF's Children in Israeli Military Detention report. These
include: the introduction of legal obligations to inform the child's parents of an
arrest and grant them legal status to be represented in court, as well as to notify
minors of their legal rights; and standard operating procedures on methods of restraint.
The Government will continue to work, both through bilateral engagement and through
the EU, to encourage Israel to take further positive steps.</p>
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