Press release
Syrian Opposition Coalition
Department of Media and Communications
June 12, 2021
The World Day Against Child Labor is an occasion to remind regional and international parties, and sisterly and friendly states of their responsibilities with regards to the reality in Syria. An entire generation of Syrian children is coming under immense pressure. A large percentage of Syrian children have lost their right to education. Along with their families, today they are bearing onerous economic burdens and suffering extremely dire living conditions.
Hundreds of thousands of children in Syria have become orphans, while millions have not had the opportunity to live their childhood. The vast majority are being subjected to terrible psychological pressures that are part of what the Syrian people have been subjected to in general. Today they are forced to assume responsibilities that are not commensurate with their ages.
Children’s schools and playgrounds have been a constant target of the Assad regime and Russian occupation air forces which have destroyed hundreds of schools in deliberate and systematic bombing. Many children were forced to bear arms, especially by the Assad regime and its allied militias as well as the terrorist PKK militia.
The continuation of the status quo in Syria means that new generations of Syrian children will lose their right to education and work, which will increase unemployment rates and consequently create a fertile environment for extremism and ignorance. This deprivation will have dire consequences that all parties, including the active parties of the international community, will have to deal with.
It is imperative that the international community take action to save the children of Syria and put an end to the various types of violations they are exposed to, including child labor. It is also required to work to put an end to the ongoing catastrophe in Syria and all the consequent secondary crises.
We have repeatedly emphasized that political solution is the only natural path that carries real hope to address the crises and disasters that the Syrian people are exposed to and which continue to threaten the reality and future of the peoples of the region and beyond.
