III Applicable legal framework

13. The Commission affirms that children are rights holders whose rights are enshrined in human rights instruments. Children are entitled to all the rights of human beings, as well as rights held by them alone as children, including under article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which entitles them to special care, assistance and social protection, and under the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). This heightened protection applies to all Palestinian children under the occupation of Israel, as an occupying power, in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. This special status of children is stipulated under international human rights law, international humanitarian law, international criminal law and customary international law, which together recognise that persons under 18 have distinct needs and vulnerabilities that require additional safeguards in situations of armed conflict, occupation and law enforcement.