Defense for Children International-Palestine won the Rafto Human Rights Award for its efforts to defend the rights of Palestinians. The Rafto Foundation said, “For more than thirty years, Defense for Children International has investigated, documented and pursued gross human rights violations against children, and held the Israeli authorities accountable.” and the Palestinian territories in accordance with the principles of universal human rights.”

The statement stressed that "since 1967, the long-term Israeli military occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, has deprived Palestinian children of their childhood and basic human rights."

The organization pointed out the arbitrary arrests and the existence of two separate legal systems applied by Israel in the same region. Israeli settlers are subject to the legal and criminal system, while the Palestinians live under military law.

Defense for Children International-Palestine asserts on its website that “every year, between 500 and 700 Palestinian children, some as young as 12, are detained and tried in the Israeli military justice system” on charges that are often stone-throwing.

In October 2021, Israel classified Defense for Children International - Palestine and five other Palestinian NGOs in the occupied West Bank as “terrorist,” considering that they constitute a cover to promote and finance the activities of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

In the Palestinian territories, the organization works against early marriage, corporal punishment and domestic violence.

The award, which bears the name of Norwegian historian and human rights activist Thorolf Rafto, was previously awarded to four figures who later won the Nobel Peace Prize, which is also awarded in Norway: Jose Ramos-Horta, Kim Dae-jung, and Shirin Ebadi.