HRO Afrin-Syria calls on international community to protect children

Today, the organization issued a written statement on the occasion of Universal Children's Day, calling on the United Nations and Children's Rights Organizations to bear their responsibilities at a time when children, especially in the areas occupied by Turkey and its mercenaries, are exposed to crimes; murder, kidnapping, torture and trafficking.

The statement of Human Rights Organization Afrin – Syria included:

"A statement to the public opinion:

The Universal Children's Day was declared in 1954 as a global event celebrated on November 20^th every year to enhance international interdependence, raise awareness among the world's children, and improve their welfare level.

The date of November 20 is important because it is the day when the United Nations General Assembly declared Child's Rights in 1959, and it is also the date that the General Assembly adopted the Child Rights Convention in 1989.

Since 1990, Universal Child's Day has been celebrated as the anniversary of the date the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Declaration of Child's Rights and the related convention.

Mothers and fathers, workers in education, medicine, nursing, the government sector, civil society activists, religious sheikhs, local community leaders, business and media workers - as well as youth and children themselves - can play important roles in linking the Universal Children's Day with their communities and nations.

Universal Children's Day provides each of us with an inspiring jumping off point to defend, promote and celebrate children's rights, and to interpret them into discussions and actions to build a better world for children."

The areas occupied by Turkey is turning into hotbeds of crimes against children

The organization's statement mentioned Turkish crimes against children, and "since the occupation of the Syrian region of Afrin on 18/03/2018, the crimes and violations of the Syrian armed factions affiliated with the Turkish occupation have been continuing before the eyes of the occupying power and at its guidance against innocent civilians and various types of violations of killing, kidnapping, torture, seizure of public property, and sexual violence in all its forms, and these violations have affected children and women in particular despite the existence of protection rights specialized for them, which are preserved by international law due to their weakness. The number of killed children reached 67 children, and the number of wounded children reached nearly 330 children.

In addition to the denial of more than 50,000 students and pupils of the right to education, the displacement of more than 100,000 children, depriving them of the health, social and psychological care conditions almost completely, and settling most of them in displacement camps in al-Shahba areas in very difficult and harsh living conditions, as many of them suffer from psychological problems as a result of the war imposed by the Turkish state on their regions, in addition to the cruelty of living in displacement camps that lack the most basic rights of children in the world, especially in light of the Corona pandemic in light of the lack of all means of prevention, protection and health care, especially in the camps.

Thousands of crimes against children have been documented by International Investigation Committees and International Human Rights Organizations which fall within the following main fields: international humanitarian law granting children broad-based general protection, especially in cases of conflict and armed conflict, as children benefit of the general protection granted to civilians who do not participate in hostilities, ensuring humane treatment and applying the provisions of International Humanitarian Law related to the conduct of hostilities.

Child protection laws remain ink on paper

The organization's statement pointed to Turkish violations of international laws related to the protection of children. International law also granted children special protection rights due to their weakness, especially the Geneva Accords of 1949, the First, Second, Third and Fourth Geneva Accords, and their Additional Protocols of 1977, which provided special protection for children, and emphasized that children who are directly involved in hostilities do not lose this special protection.

The Fourth Geneva Convention also provides for the provision of special care that must be accorded to children, and the First Additional Protocol specifically affirms the principle of special protection for children, stating that: "Children must be subject to special respect, and guaranteeing protection from any form of indecent assault for them. The parties to the conflict must provide them with care and aid they need because of their age or for any other reason.

The 1989 Convention on the Child's Rights (to which Syria acceded and ratified its provisions) guarantees that no child will be subject to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and all member parties to the convention have pledged to respect the rules of international humanitarian law applicable to them in armed conflicts and those with relevant to children, and to take all feasible measures to ensure the protection and care of children affected by any armed conflict.

All states must provide guarantees for the protection of children and women during armed conflicts, in fulfillment of their obligations under the Geneva Protocol of 1925.

Although these international laws and agreements have stipulated the protection of the rights of child and childhood, especially during international and non-international armed conflicts, the Turkish state has committed and continues to commit various types of violations against civilians, especially children, violating all international covenants and charters.

The organization's statement appealed to all international human rights and humanitarian organizations, led by the United Nations and UNICEF in particular to carry out their legal and moral duty towards the children of Syria in general and the children of Afrin in particular, secure international protection and care for them and their families, put pressure on the Turkish state to withdraw from all the Syrian lands it occupied, secure the return of the displaced and the delivery of the necessary humanitarian aid to them, and ensure their safety and the safety of their children, so that the desired goal of this day (Universal's Children's Day) will be achieved."

D.H

ANHA