Syria

In the annexes of his 2025 annual report on CAAC, the SG continued to list Syrian government forces, and four non-state armed actors for various grave violations against children. From January 1 to December 8, 2024, the UN verified 1,301 grave violations against 1,205 children, as well as 64 violations that occurred in previous years. Recruitment and use remained widespread, with 527 children affected, and most used in combat roles. The UN also verified the killing and maiming of 672 children, 70 attacks on schools and hospitals, 18 incidents of denial of humanitarian access, the abduction of 14 children, and the military use of 13 schools and hospitals. Two boys were detained for their alleged association with armed groups, and approximately 1,000 children remained deprived of liberty, with another 25,500 held in Hawl and Rawj camps for suspected family ties to Da’esh. Recent hostilities in Syria have resulted in the killing and maiming of children and damage to critical civilian infrastructure. Following escalating violence in the Suweida governorate, the SG unequivocally condemned all violence against civilians and called for urgent measures to facilitate humanitarian access. He also condemned Israel’s escalatory airstrikes, urging respect for Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The Security Council should:  

• Demand that all parties uphold their obligations under international law, including IHL and IHRL; and urge all parties to end and prevent all grave violations against children;
• Call on the interim government to allow and facilitate unimpeded, rapid, and safe access to ensure the delivery of humanitarian assistance to affected populations, especially children;
• Call for the protection, rights, well-being, and empowerment of children to be fully incorporated and prioritized in efforts to build inclusive, sustainable peace,and encourage and facilitate the inclusion of children’s views and best interests in these processes, where possible and compatible with their best interests, pursuant to SCR 2427 (2018) and drawing on the Practical Guidance for Mediators;  
• Reiterate that all children formerly associated with armed forces and armed groups should be treated primarily as victims, including those allegedly associated with armed groups designated as terrorist by the UN and those who may have committed crimes; their reintegration should be prioritized, and detention should only be used as a last resort and for the shortest appropriate time; 
• Urge Member States to facilitate the return of their nationals, including children of their nationals, held for their or their family members’ real or perceived association with Da’esh, and undertake individual, rights-based needs assessments, consistent with the principle of non-refoulement; provide reintegration and recovery support in line with international law and standards, prioritizing the child’s best interests; and prevent children from becoming stateless.

DENMARK IS THE DESIGNATED SECURITY COUNCIL PENHOLDER ON HUMANITARIAN ISSUES IN SYRIA.

This information is based on Watchlist’s Children and Armed Conflict Monthly Update – August 2025.

In November, the Secretary-General released his fifth report on the situation of children and armed conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic (S/2025/535), covering the period October 1, 2022, to December 31, 2024. During this time, the UN verified 3,343 grave violations against 3,209 children (2,653 boys, 428 girls, 128 sex unknown), including 17 children affected by multiple violations. The two most prevalent violations were recruitment and use (1,981) and killing and maiming (1,223). The UN also verified 97 attacks on schools and hospitals, 58 incidents of military use, 18 abductions, 4 cases of rape and other forms of sexual violence, and 20 incidents of denial of humanitarian access. Violations were attributed to at least 32 parties, with the then-Syrian government forces and pro-government forces and militias responsible for the highest number (917), followed by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (729), the opposition Syrian National Army (629), and the Syrian Democratic Forces (534). The SG noted that until December 8 2024, the UN had engaged with the former Syrian Government on strengthening the protection of children, including through the adoption of an action plan, which had not been materialized by the end of the reporting period. By the end of December 2024, the caretaker authorities announced their intention to dissolve all armed groups and bring them under the command of a unified Ministry of Defence. The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict (SRSG), Vanessa Frazier, expressed her concern on the high number of children deprived of liberty for their actual or alleged association with parties to conflict, including Da’esh, and that approximately 25,500 children with suspected family ties to Da’esh are held in Hawl and Rawj camps. The Working Group should: 

• Welcome the SDF and the opposition SNA for the efforts and progress in the implementation of their respective action plans, and call upon all parties who have not yet done so to engage with the UN to adopt an action plan to end and prevent grave violations; 
• Welcome the recommitment of the interim authorities to Syria’s international obligations for the protection of children, including acknowledging the definition of a child as anyone under the age of 18, its responsibilities under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and its optional protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict; 
• Call on the authorities to ensure children formerly associated with armed forces and armed groups are handed over to civilian child protection actors; 
• Call on all parties to ensure all children have access to gender-sensitive, age-appropriate, disability-inclusive comprehensive and non-discriminatory child protection services, including specialized services for child survivors of gender-based violence; 
• Urge Member States to facilitate the return of their nationals, including children of their nationals, held for their or their family members’ actual or alleged association with Da’esh , following individual, rights-based needs assessments, provide reintegration support in line with international law and standards, prioritizing the child’s best interests, and prevent children from becoming stateless; 
• Call for allocation of sufficient resources to the UN Country Team to strengthen capacities to deliver on its child protection mandate, including for monitoring and engagement with parties to end and prevent grave violations, and to address threats posed by landmines, ERW, and IEDs. 

This information is based on Watchlist’s Children and Armed Conflict Monthly Update – December 2025.

Year listed: 2012
Action Plans signed: Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) – recruitment and use of children (June 2019)
Secretary-General’s reports on CAAC in Syria: 2018; 2014
Security Council Working Group conclusions on Syria: 2019; 2014