BERLIN, 13 October 2026 – This year’s Human Rights Award of Amnesty International Germany goes to the Palestinian lawyer Khaled Quzmar, in recognition of his longstanding commitment to defending the rights of children in the illegally occupied Palestinian territory. The award carries a prize of €20,000.
An internationally recognised expert on children’s rights, Khaled Quzmar has played a crucial role in exposing structural and systematic human rights abuses against Palestinian children and in placing demands for accountability and justice at the heart of public debate. He has documented human rights violations in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem for UN bodies and international courts, and has enabled countless children and their families to access legal assistance and psychosocial support.
Because of his work, Quzmar, who is based in Ramallah, has been subjected to considerable pressure, repression and smear campaigns by the Israeli authorities. Such instances include being summoned by Israel’s internal intelligence service, Shin Bet, and threatened with a lengthy prison sentence. As long-serving Director General of the human rights organisation Defense for Children International – Palestine (DCI-P), he was forced to dissolve the organisation in spring 2026, after more than 35 years, in the face of sustained harassment by the Israeli authorities. Since June 2026, he has served as Executive Director of the organisation Palestinian Center for Child Rights (PCCR).
Julia Duchrow, Secretary General of Amnesty International Germany, said: “For almost 40 years, Khaled Quzmar has worked tirelessly and against all odds to give a voice to the most vulnerable group in Palestinian society: its children. Their devastating living conditions are the direct consequence of structural human rights abuses and systematic oppression, which have intensified significantly in recent years. This state of affairs is depriving entire generations of a future. Allies of the Israeli government, including the United States and Germany, have contributed to this situation. They not only turn a blind eye to serious human rights abuses against Palestinians but facilitate them through arms deliveries. This must come to an end. Palestinian children need immediate and the fullest possible protection.”
Structural human rights abuses and systematic discrimination
For decades, Palestinian children have been subjected to grave human rights abuses as a result of Israel’s unlawful occupation and cruel system of apartheid against all Palestinians. Since the massive escalation of violence in October 2023 and the beginning of the genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, their situation has deteriorated dramatically.
“What is often portrayed as a humanitarian crisis is the result of political decisions by the Israeli government that are systematically destroying these children’s lives. This is not only about the lack of humanitarian aid for children across the unlawfully occupied Palestinian territory; it is about their right to life and physical integrity, to freedom and security, to education, health and housing – and ultimately about whether these human rights apply to Palestinian children at all,” said Julia Duchrow.
In the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military has killed at least 20,000 children since October 2023, and more than 17,000 have lost their families. Tens of thousands of children are living with severe injuries, hunger and disease, amid destroyed infrastructure and without access to basic services, schools and education. In the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, children are affected by state-backed settler violence and displacement – with schools and infrastructure also being systematically destroyed there.
Repression of Palestinian civil society
Human rights defenders and human rights organisations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory face constant repression by the Israeli authorities and military. In October 2021, Israel designated the DCI-P – the organisation for which Khaled Quzmar had worked for many years – as a terrorist organisation, along with five other Palestinian civil society organisations, without providing any substantiated evidence. Amnesty International, the United Nations and numerous civil society organisations strongly criticised the designation. The German government and many other EU partners have also rejected Israel’s designation. Since the current ruling coalition took office – and particularly since 7 October 2023 – staff members of some organisations have increasingly been subjected to intimidation, smear campaigns, interrogation, arbitrary detention, imprisonment and ill-treatment, with some offices also being raided.
Amnesty International Germany’s Human Rights Award
Every two years, Amnesty International Germany honours individuals and organisations working for human rights under difficult conditions with its Human Rights Award. The award aims to recognise, support and protect their work and to raise public awareness of it. It carries a prize of €20,000. 2026 marks the 13th time the Amnesty Human Rights Award will have been presented. Previous recipients include Eren Keskin (Türkiye), Svetlana Gannushkina (Russia), Alice Nkom (Cameroon), Henri Tiphagne (India) and the Colombian organization Federation of Santander Fishers for Tourism and Environment (FEDESPAN).
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