| Today, November 20, the international community celebrates Universal Children’s Day, promoting the welfare of children. This day also marks the anniversary of the UN General Assembly’s adoption of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child and Convention of the Rights of a Child. In Syria, the legal principles enshrined in these international instruments have failed to protect the rights of millions of children and youth. Syria’s so-called “lost generation” – youth facing a pervasive lack of education, resources, and prospects for future success – remains in desperate need of greater international attention to ensure their immediate basic rights. Consideration is likewise needed in the transitional justice process to address pervasive rights violations and ensure their long-term security and prosperity.
Children are acutely vulnerable during conflicts, and the Syrian war has caused the country’s youth to suffer both immediate harm and severe long-term injury in developmental growth. Some of the most prevalent violations against Syrian children include: |
