UN: SDF commitment to protecting schools is positive step to protect Syrian children

Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Virginia Gamba, welcomed the military measures promulgated by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to protect schools from attacks as well as to prevent their use for military purposes.

On Friday, Gamba said, "This commitment to protect the civilian status of schools by the SDF is a positive step toward protecting children in Syria and is in line with Resolution 2011 (1998) of the United Nations Security Council."

On July 13, the SDF issued a set of military instructions and orders stating the right of education during armed conflict, mitigating the impact of the conflict on children and educational personnel, providing the necessary facilities, and protecting them from the dangers of military operations in areas under their control.

The SDF said on its website that it had removed all military presence from ten schools northern and eastern Syria until the end of April.

SDF Commander-in-Chief Mazloum Abdi and Virginia Gamba signed a joint action plan with the United Nations at the United Nations Headquarters in Geneva on June 29, 2019 to implement mechanisms of international law related to the protection of the rights of children affected by the armed conflict in Syria.