Civic bodies in eastern Ghouta announced the establishment of the Observatory for Children’s Rights to monitor violations against children, help treat victims, and seek accountability for these violations.
The Observatory’s director, Sulaiman Ahmed Antar, told Smart News Network on Friday that the center would monitor violations against children in Eastern Ghouta, provide medical treatment and psychological counselling for the victims, and seek accountability for these violations.
Antar added that the center would hold seminars and distribute pamphlets on educational centers and institutions to reduce violations against children. The center will have psychiatrists and doctors who will provide psychological support and treat physical injuries among children.
Children in eastern Ghouta are subjected to numerous violations, most notably the bombing by the Assad regime, resulting in hundreds of children being killed and injured. The siege regime forces impose on eastern Ghouta has forced many children to enter the labor market at an early age to provide for themselves and their families.
The UN children’s agency UNICEF in late May 2017 said that over two million children live in areas besieged by the Assad regime and in hard-to-reach areas. It warned that these children don’t have access to vaccines.
Around five million children now need humanitarian assistance and are highly vulnerable to disease where there is little or no humanitarian assistance, UNICEF added. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department + Smart News Network)
