Secretary of the Syrian Opposition Coalition’s (SOC) political committee, Abdul Majeed Barakat, described the figures listed in the annual report of the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, on violations against children in Syria as harrowing. He stressed that the UN report highlighted once again the importance of bringing about political transition in Syria in accordance with UN resolutions, most importantly the Geneva Communique of 2012 and UN Resolutions 2118 and 2254.
Barakat pointed out that the UN report indicated that the Assad regime and terrorist militias, especially the PYD militia, continue to commit crimes against the Syrian people, especially against children. He said that these gross violations poses a serious threat to the present and future of Syria.
Barakat said that real, effective measures should be taken to prevent more crimes against children in Syria, adding that this report must be referred to the International Criminal Court to launch an investigation into the findings of the report and hold those responsible to account.
The report of the UN Secretary-General has once again shown that Syria is one of the worst countries in the world in terms of violations committed against children in 2021. According to the report, at least 898 children in Syria were killed and maimed in 2021, 424 of whom were killed, while 474 were maimed, making Syria the second worst country in the world After Afghanistan in terms of deaths, and the fifth in terms of mutilation. The report indicated that the Assad regime forces were responsible for killing and maiming 301 children.
The report recorded the recruitment and use of 6,310 child soldiers across Syria, making Syria as the worst country in the world in terms of recruitment and use of child soldiers. According to the report, 1,296 children were recruited and used in Syria in 2021 alone.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) earlier said that it recorded at least 2,271 grave violations against children in Syria, including killing, maiming, recruitment, detention, deprivation of liberty, sexual violence, attacks on schools and hospitals, kidnapping and the denial of humanitarian access, which affected no less than 2,022 children in 2021.
The Network indicated that the Assad regime and its allies were responsible for the majority of violations, while the PYD militia came second in terms of the number of violations, and third in terms of the recruitment and use of child soldiers.
(Source: SOC’s Media Department)
