Syria is World’s Worst Country in Recruiting, Using Children in Armed Conflict

 A girl died in a Russian raid that targeted a house in al-Jdayde city in July 2022. (DPA)
A girl died in a Russian raid that targeted a house in al-Jdayde city in July 2022. (DPA)
TT
20

Syria is World’s Worst Country in Recruiting, Using Children in Armed Conflict

 A girl died in a Russian raid that targeted a house in al-Jdayde city in July 2022. (DPA)
A girl died in a Russian raid that targeted a house in al-Jdayde city in July 2022. (DPA)

The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) commented on a report by the UN Secretary-General on children, considering it a main source of information for violations against children in Syria through cooperation and partnership with the UNICEF’s Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism (MRM).

The UN report said Syria is reportedly the worst in the world in terms of recruiting and using children.

The Syrian regime and its allies topped the list of violations related to killing and maiming, while the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) came second.

The National Army led the armed opposition factions in recruiting children, followed by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, and the SDF came third.

In June, the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres submitted his annual report to the UN Security Council on Children and Armed Conflict in 2021.

The report underlined the trends regarding the impact of armed conflict on children and information on violations committed in several countries, including Syria.

It specified those engaged in the violations against children, namely the recruitment and use of children, the killing and maiming of children, rape and other forms of sexual violence against children, attacks on schools, hospitals and protected persons in relation to schools and/or hospitals, and the abduction of children.

The UN verified 2,271 grave violations against 2,202 children (1,824 boys, 235 girls, 143 sex unknown). In addition, 74 grave violations against 73 children (58 boys, 14 girls, 1 sex unknown) that occurred in previous years were verified in 2021.

In the report, it is noted that attacks or threats of attacks on community and civic leaders, on human rights defenders and on monitors of violations against children are a cause for concern and a strain on the monitoring capacity.

While Guterres’s report used the term “pro-government air forces,” the SNHR said it believes it would have been better to specifically identify the Russian forces, being the only ally of the Syrian regime with aerial capabilities.

The UN verified the recruitment and use of 1,296 children (1,258 boys, 38 girls), Most of who were used in combat, specifically 1,285 children.

The SNHR noted that this figure is higher than that recorded in Guterres’s previous report, which documented the recruitment and use of 837 children in Syria in 2020.

Monday’s report indicated that all Syrian opposition factions (the Syrian National Army) were responsible for the largest number of cases involving recruitment and use of children in this period, with 596 cases, followed by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham with 380.

The SDF came third by recruiting and using 245 children.



Libya's Anti-NGO Push Seen as Diversion from Internal Failures, Analysts Say

Head of Libya's Government of National Unity Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah - File Photo
Head of Libya's Government of National Unity Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah - File Photo
TT
20

Libya's Anti-NGO Push Seen as Diversion from Internal Failures, Analysts Say

Head of Libya's Government of National Unity Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah - File Photo
Head of Libya's Government of National Unity Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah - File Photo

Libya's suspension of 10 international humanitarian groups, part of a broader crackdown on African migrants, is aimed at masking domestic failures and securing external concessions, particularly from Europe, analysts have said, AFP reported.

Libya's Tripoli-based authorities announced on Wednesday a decision to suspend the Norwegian Refugee Council, Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Terre des Hommes, CESVI and six other groups, accusing them of a plan to "settle migrants" from other parts of Africa in the country.

War-torn Libya is a key departure point on North Africa's Mediterranean coast for migrants, mainly from sub-Saharan African countries, risking dangerous sea voyages in the hope of reaching Europe.

Anas al-Gomati, director of the Tripoli-based Sadeq Institute think tank, said "this isn't about NGOs -- it's about creating enemies to distract from failures".

The UN-recognized government of Abdulhamid Dbeibah is "tapping into conservative anxieties while masking their inability to provide basic services", he told AFP.

The ultimate goal, according to Gomati, is to "extract concessions from Europe which, fearing potential migration surges, will offer new funding packages and prop up the government in Tripoli".

On Wednesday, Rome announced the allocation of 20 million euros to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to finance "voluntary repatriations" for 3,300 sub-Saharan migrants who arrived in Algeria, Tunisia and Libya.

"This isn't coincidence -- its coordination. The Libyan authorities shut down NGOs providing monitoring and protection (for migrants) precisely as Italy announces 20 million euros for 'voluntary' returns," said Gomati.

"Italy gets to claim they're funding 'voluntary' returns while Libya gets to demonstrate 'sovereignty', all while vulnerable migrants face extortion in detention before being labelled 'volunteers' for deportation."

Libya analyst Jalel Harchaoui noted that the Tripoli government is adopting a similar tone to Tunisian President Kais Saied, who in early 2023 denounced what he called "hordes of sub-Saharan migrants" who threatened to "change the country's demographic composition".

Harchaoui, of the London-based Royal United Services Institute, said Dbeibah was facing considerable difficulties, particularly in gaining access to public funds, and his once pragmatic relationship with the Haftar family in the east had deteriorated.

Following the NGO ban, aid groups have expressed concern for both their Libyan colleagues and the migrants who have been made more vulnerable in a country that, according to the IOM, is home to more than 700,000 residents from sub-Saharan countries.

The International Commission of Jurists on Friday condemned the "recent collective expulsions, arrests, violent attacks and the surge of hate speech, including that which constitutes incitement to violence, against migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in Libya".

The organization noted that the Libyan interior ministry has pledged "the deportation of 100,000 migrants every four months".