Syria’s children suffer as the regime attempts to hold onto power

At a rally in San Francisco on May 21st, Syrians of all ages rallied for their rights without fear of retribution. (Photo credit: Creative Commons)

Graphic evidence has surfaced of the detainment, torture, and murder of children during the Syrian uprisings, prompting a distressed international community to appeal to the Syrian government.

Despite Syria’s commitments to uphold the protection of its children, eyewitness reports and video footage circulating the internet reveal a level of violence that violates the rights of children. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reports at least 30 cases of children dying as a direct result of being shot by security forces during protests.

The incarceration and torture of children leading to death has been reported as well, although UNICEF cannot verify some of this information due to the difficulty of access to Syria. As of 8 June, the UN Security Council is considering a draft resolution to condemn human rights violations in Syria in spite of concerns that Russia, a Syrian ally, may exercise its veto power.

“The spark which ignited this uprising in Syria was when 15 children between the ages of 9-13 were arrested after writing or drawing [graffiti] against the regime in the city of Deraa,” said Walid Saffour, president of the Syrian Human Rights Committee (SHRC), an independent organization with offices in Damascus and London.

“When they were released, all the reports revealed that they were severely tortured,” Saffour told MediaGlobal.“Their fingers and teeth were crushed; electricity had been applied on their bodies; and cigarettes [were] put out on certain parts of their body.”

Reports indicate that children are shot indiscriminately along with adult men and women, not just during street protests but along security checkpoints as well. One such case, according to SHRC, is that of 8-year-old Muhannad Al-Asmar who was killed when a security patrol opened fired without warning on a car he was in with his father. They were traveling to Homs in Western Syria, according to the father, when a bullet penetrated Muhannad’s neck, killing him instantly.

One of the most widely known cases of violence against a Syrian child is that of Hamza Ali Al-Khatib, a 13-year-old boy whose mutilated body was returned to his family after a month-long incarceration following his capture during a round-up of protesters. Graphic footage of his wounds has been circulated in a video online. The young boy had been castrated and shot three times. His neck was broken and his body burned.

A 54-page document released this month by Human Rights Watch (HRW) titled We’ve Never Seen Such Horror: Crimes against Humanity by Syrian Security Forces cited many instances of children being rounded up, brutalized, imprisoned, and treated in the same manner as adults. One unnamed prisoner revealed in interviews with HRW that of the 300 people he shared a cell with while detained, 70 of them were children. These reports, along with many others, have rallied citizens to fight for children’s rights and prompted condemnation from the international community.

The Special Representative of the Secretary General (SRSG) on Violence Against Children, Marta Santos Pais, released a statement urging the Syrian government to ensure the protection of all children in accordance with its obligations under the Declaration of the Rights of the Child and the Marrakesh Declaration, adopted last December by the Fourth Arab High Level Conference on the Rights of the Child. The SRSG wants the government to provide services to children in order to both prevent violence and rehabilitate those who have suffered physically and mentally.

“Child victims and witnesses of violence must be supported in their process of healing, recovery, and reintegration,” said Santos Pais in an exclusive interview with MediaGlobal.

“This idea reflects UNICEF’s action for children who lived and worked on the streets of Egypt and were affected by the violence they witnessed during the protests in Egypt. UNICEF launched a psycho-social support program for the children, training teachers and social workers to look out for children with signs of trauma and how to help them cope.”

Though accused of human rights violations and facing the possibility of a Security Council resolution condemning its actions, the Syrian regime is attempting to hold onto power at all cost. But should the life of a child have a price?