(Geneva Call) – On 5 July, after several months of negotiations with Geneva Call, the People’s Protection Units (YPG), the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ), and the « Democratic Self-Administration in Rojava » demobilized 149 children from their ranks and signed Geneva Call’s Deed of Commitment protecting children in armed conflict during an official ceremony in Ramalan, in the Kurdish region of Syria. Their signature publically formalized their policy to prevent children under 18 from taking part in hostilities and to protect them from the effects of the conflict. YPG-YPJ and the “Democratic Self-Administration in Rojava” have identified underage members and have started to demobilize them. The 149 children who have already been decommissioned from the YPG-YPJ no longer bear firearms and they have been separated from the military bases as well as being offered educational classes.
