The Syrian Future Movement is following with grave concern and condemnation the actions of the “National Guard” militia on Saturday, August 29, 2026, in preventing buses carrying students from the city of Suwaida and several other areas of the governorate from reaching the centers for the special examination session. The militia also intercepted a delegation from the Directorate of Education, attacked the buses, and caused material damage to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Syrian Future Movement condemns in the strongest terms this act, which constitutes a flagrant violation of international law, a blatant attack on fundamental human rights, and a systematic exploitation of students, using them as bargaining chips and hostages to achieve political gains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Syrian Future Movement reiterates that education is a fundamental right for all, and that obstructing students’ access to their exams is not merely a hostile act, but a crime against the future of the nation’s children and future generations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Syrian Future Movement believes that what happened in Suwaida constitutes a blatant violation of several international conventions ratified by Syria, most notably:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Fourth Geneva Convention (Article 50) obligates occupying powers to facilitate and ensure the continuity of children’s education and to protect educational institutions, even during conflicts. We emphasize that this article embodies the protection of education as an inviolable human right, even under the most dire circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Syrian Future Movement asserts that preventing students from reaching their exam centers, turning them back at checkpoints, and obstructing their progress is tantamount to holding them hostage and using their educational future as leverage to achieve political objectives. We consider this act a clear violation of Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, which prohibits hostage-taking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We also emphasize that preventing students from taking their exams, especially during the exceptional session granted by Decree No. 163 of 2026, constitutes a severe blow to their academic and professional futures and threatens their dreams of pursuing university education. We reiterate that education is the only path to building a better future, and that obstructing it is a crime against future generations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, we believe that preventing students from accessing their exams, obstructing a delegation from the Directorate of Education, and attacking buses constitute a direct challenge to the sovereignty of the state and its ability to protect its citizens and ensure the stability of the educational process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Syrian Future Movement affirms that the state bears primary responsibility for protecting the rights of its citizens, and that any obstruction of these rights must be met with the utmost firmness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Based on its national and humanitarian responsibility, the Syrian Future Movement recommends the following:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Syrian Future Movement reiterates its full solidarity with the students of Suwaida and their families, and commends their resilience and determination to continue their education despite the challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It reiterates that the right to education is a fundamental right guaranteed by the constitution, the law, and international conventions, and that protecting this right is the shared responsibility of the state and society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Syrian Future Movement affirms that targeting students and preventing them from taking their exams is a crime against the future of all of Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For its part, the Syrian Future Movement will remain supportive of everything that promotes the right to education, critical of everything that hinders the achievement of educational justice, and monitoring everything that is accomplished on the ground, striving for a new Syria in which education is available to everyone without discrimination or obstruction.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Preventing students in Suwaida from taking their exams and how this affects human rights and education.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":67392,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4843,4674],"tags":[4706],"class_list":["post-67394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-legal-office","category-scientific-office-en","tag-press-release"],"yoast_head":"\n\n
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