Child Protection Office hands over ten children to their parents
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – The Child Protection Office of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) held on Monday, a press conference announcing the handover of minors, who had previously joined military forces.
Mediya Nasreddin, an official of the Child Protection Office in Qamishli, said that they received 16 complaints from residents of the area.
“We handed over four children from the city of Qamishli, and ten children from the Jazira region. We are working to follow up with the remaining complaints,” she added.
Nasreddin indicated that the Child Protection Office in northeastern Syria has received fifty complaints since its opening, and that work is currently underway on them.
The AANES Executive Council established the Child Protection Office late in August. This step came after an agreement signed by Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Commander-in-Chief, Mazloum Abdi with the United Nations to prevent the recruitment of children and their use as combatants in armed conflict.
The Child Protection Office has nine branch offices located in city centers in northeast Syria, and began their work on October 20.
A father of one of the children, said his daughter, only 15, joined the military forces.
“We submitted a request to the Social Affairs and Labor Office to get back the girl, and she was back today,” He added.
Murhaf al-Abdullah, co-chair of the Child Protection Office in north and east Syria, had made statements to the AANES official website saying that the office held a meeting with @UNICEF, which included the matter of child protection from various aspects, including the issue of child recruitment.
He added that they had met with several organizations concerned with children’s rights to coordinate and to discuss the mechanism of some organizations providing support to children in northeastern Syria.