We cannot imagine our children getting hunted down and subjected to all sorts of violence which no children should ever undergo. But what is happening to the children in Syria is cruelty beyond words. Syrian civil war has completely erased their dreams . The most recent findings come in the latest report by the UN Commission of Inquiry in Syria. The report is an over look into the lives of Syrian children during the period September 2011-October 2019
Look into the eyes of those kids. They are innocent, aren't they? These eyes tell hundreds of stories. Do you think they are telling us stories of excitements? NO, their eyes tell about the broken images, broken childhood, broken future.
Children, they are our future. They are the first victim of every calamity. Story is not different in Syria too.
The latest report released by the UN explains how the children in Syria is suffering. The civil war almost stole their childhood. Instead of the lullabies, their ears are filled with the sound of explosion and the firing.
The three member commission appointed by the UN Human Rights Commission recorded a bundle of violations. They interviewed more than 5000 people including children, armed groups, medical professionals, etc.
Syrian conflict is an ongoing multi-sided civil war which is considered to be the second deadliest of this century. The lives of the children in Syria have been scarred by the brutality of the war in the Syrian Arab Republic. Since the beginning of the Syrian conflict, children have been denied the protection they are entitled to under the international law. In the report it is clearly mentioned that, nearly nine years of conflict in Syria have robbed boys and girls of their childhood. They are being killed, maimed, displaced, forced to fight or subjected to torture, rape and sexual slavery.
Children put in detention also fall victim to torture or other cruel or inhumane degrading treatment. Armed groups even create financial incentives for boys to join their ranks and take advantage of the quickly deteriorating economic situation in areas under their control. As the conflict intensified recruits were drawn primarily from communities loyal to the Government and children were used to staff checkpoints.
The psychological effects on children are horrific. They are persuaded to do all sorts of things to other children which should not be happening. The children are usually used as hostages to make parents do certain things for the fighters. They have been detained to just punish them and punish their families by not having their children with them. In the detention, they are tortured and certainly maltreated. In violation of the special protection entitled to children, they are even denied access to psychological support or medical care.
Every mother in Syria is weeping. They are all worried about their children. Army men detains the boys, the same, sexually assault their girl children. Countless children were killed. And millions were displaced.
Girls as young as nine year old are subjected to sexual assault and are forced into sexual slavery. Young boys get recruited and are forced to undergo military training and commit murder in public. The snipers treat them as their targets for training. Countless children were killed as a result of the use of cluster munitions, thermobaric bombs, barrel bombs and improvised rocket assisted munitions, and chemical weapons... Can you at least imagine that scene? How brutal it would be...The report also states that not just the armed forces, the IS terrorists also subject young girls to sexual slavery and other forms of sexual violence. They also recruit children for direct participation in hostilities.
In the early days of the conflict, children were killed and injured during protests and home raids carried out by Government forces, as part of military ground operations aiming to re-take areas and arrest individuals supporting, or perceived to be supporting, opposition groups.
Children who had been injured during hostilities feared seeking medical treatment at public hospitals due to widespread arrests targeting youths and those accompanying them.
Children’s right to education has been denied by all parties to the conflict. Most of the children miss going to their schools as schools are bombed and are not yet recovered or re-built. Many of those victims were killed while on their way to school or when gathered in schoolyard.
Government forces and affiliated militia used children to locate members of armed groups, or act as informants, in violation of international humanitarian law
Parents often lead their life with the fear that their children might be drawn in to violence which push them to relocate their sons outside the country. The report confirms that over 5 million minors are displaced internally and abroad. When these children are displaced, it is not just their living conditions that changes. But whole of their life itself changes.
In every war, peace is the first calamity. Likewise, in every war children are the first to get affected. How would it be when life comes to a halt even before it starts? Children are our future. They are the true leaders of tomorrow. Violence against children should be seen as a major concern. It should not be just concluded with the United Nations report but world leaders should look into the matter and take necessary steps to stop the violence against children
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