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The recruitment of children remains a major concern for families in Syria, especially with the increasing incidents of abduction and recruitment by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), sending them to the front lines in various regions of Syria and Iraq.
During the first half of June 2024, the Kurdish Independent Association in Syria documented the abduction and recruitment of four children in different areas of northeastern Syria. Among these cases, two girls (aged 13 and 14) were kidnapped on the same day from the village of Um al-Housh in the Shahba areas north of Aleppo.
In July 2019, the SDF signed an agreement with the United Nations, committing to end the recruitment of children under 18 and established several child protection offices in its areas. This came after years of recruiting children within its ranks.
The U.S. Department of State defended its ally in a statement, saying that the SDF “is the only armed group in Syria that responded to the UN’s call to end the use of child soldiers,” after its leaders signed an agreement to prevent the recruitment of children under 18 on July 3, 2019.
The SDF, predominantly Kurdish, receives direct support from the United States.
Despite being one of the first groups to acknowledge recruiting children and signing such agreements, the SDF has not adhered to the commitment post-signing. The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, based in Geneva, revealed the UN’s slow response in obliging these forces to implement the signed action plan that provides full protection for these children from participating in combat operations.
Four years after the SDF signed the UN agreement, the U.S. Department of State issued its annual 2023 report on “Trafficking in Persons,” which included countries around the world, including Syria. The report discussed methods of human trafficking, including child recruitment.
The U.S. Department of State report highlighted the methods used to communicate with children for recruitment, such as abduction or deception, leading to their enrollment in armed training courses.
The UN published a report titled “Children and Armed Conflict” on June 20, 2023, confirming that the SDF recruited 231 children into its ranks.
In January 2024, Germany expressed concern over the forced recruitment of minors by armed groups in Syria, noting the cases occurring within the SDF.
The SDF denies the abductions and recruitment practices and prevents families from contacting their children, threatening them if they report the abduction to human rights organizations.
Despite international pressure on the SDF and other groups that recruit children, the SDF remains involved in child recruitment, which blatantly violates human rights agreements and international laws prohibiting child recruitment, especially in armed conflicts.
Same Justice organization calls on de facto forces in Syria to comply with international agreements, prevent the exploitation and recruitment of children, and emphasizes the prohibition of children’s participation in armed conflicts and wars. They urge taking all possible measures to prevent recruitment and endangering their lives in any way, calling for the immediate release of all child recruits within the SDF ranks.
