The Syrian Future Movement welcomes Universal Children’s Day, adopted by the United Nations on November 20th. This day commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child in 1959 and the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989, making it an international occasion dedicated to the values of protecting children, their dignity, and their right to life, safety, education, and development within an environment that respects their humanity.
The Syrian Future Movement emphasizes the centrality of children’s issues in the project of the new Syrian state and the importance of raising awareness about them.
The Syrian Future Movement recognizes that the country’s future begins with protecting its children, and that any genuine political transition from the current regime of tyranny to a new national system will not be complete without enshrining children’s rights within the constitutional and legal foundations of the future Syrian state. Children have been among the most affected by decades of oppression, war, and violations, and the time has come to establish a state that makes their best interests an absolute national priority.
The Syrian Future Movement stresses its commitment to international human rights and children’s rights.
The Syrian Future Movement reiterates its full commitment to international conventions and calls upon the Syrian government to adhere to them, foremost among them the Convention on the Rights of the Child in its entirety. Universal human rights principles.
Rules for the Protection of Children in Armed Conflict.
These serve as fundamental references in drafting future laws and policies in transitional Syria.
The Syrian Future Movement considers child protection a national obligation before it is a legal one. The Movement believes that building a new Syria requires a radical shift in the perception of children and their role in society, through:
- Protecting children from violence, exploitation, and abuse.
- Guaranteeing their right to quality and equitable education.
- Providing adequate healthcare and nutrition.
- Preventing the recruitment or use of children in conflicts.
- Supporting and reintegrating refugee and internally displaced children.
- Empowering the family as the primary natural environment for child protection.
The Syrian Future Movement calls for the establishment of just state institutions that prioritize the best interests of the child. It affirms that the transitional phase Syria is undergoing presents a historic opportunity to rebuild state institutions based on justice, good governance, and transparency, with child-focused institutions at their core. These include a modern national education system, an effective social protection system, a specialized judiciary for family and juvenile cases, and public policies grounded in the principle of the “best interests of the child” in every government decision.
The Syrian Future Movement calls upon the United Nations and friendly nations to support child protection programs in Syria. It emphasizes the need for broad international cooperation to ensure the human security of Syrian children, particularly in matters of psychosocial reintegration, mitigating the effects of war, supporting education, combating poverty, and rehabilitating school and healthcare infrastructure.
On this International Children’s Day, the Syrian Future Movement renews its commitment to building a just, free, and humane Syria, in which children’s rights are an integral part of the new state’s identity, a policy to be implemented, a law to be respected, and a practice that embodies the will of Syrians to build a homeland that protects its children and gives them a future worthy of their dignity.
