New York, June 3rd, 2024 – The opposition Syrian National Army (SNA), including Ahrar al-Sham and Army of Islam, and their aligned legions and factions, signed an action plan with the United Nations to end and prevent the recruitment and use and the killing and maiming of children as per Security Council Resolution 1539 (2004) and subsequent resolutions.

The action plan was signed by Hasan Alhamada for the opposition SNA, Amer al-Sheikh for Ahrar al-Sham, Mohammed Walid Dowara for Army of Islam, and Virginia Gamba, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict on behalf of the United Nations on 3 June 2024.

Through this action plan the opposition SNA, including Ahrar al-Sham and Army of Islam, and their aligned legions and factions, commits to end and prevent the recruitment and use and the killing and maiming of children, to issue command orders to this effect, identify and release children currently within their ranks, and to put in place preventative, protective and disciplinary measures for the recruitment and use and killing and maiming of children.

The action plan follows the listing of the opposition SNA, including Ahrar al-Sham and Army of Islam which operate under the umbrella of the opposition SNA, in the report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict for the recruitment and use and the killing and maiming of children (A/77/895 – S/2023/363). The action plan will also apply to any new factions joining or leaving the opposition SNA and affiliated groups after its signing.

“I welcome the commitment of the opposition SNA, including Ahrar al-Sham and Army of Islam, and their aligned legions and factions to sign this action plan. This is an important step towards better protecting Syria’s children, who continue bearing the brunt of the consequences of 13 years of armed conflict” said the Special Representative, Virginia Gamba.

“While the signing of this action plan is an encouraging step towards protecting children, its full implementation will be crucial to achieve tangible results for their protection” added the Special Representative.

The signing of the action plan is the result of years of engagement between the United Nations and the opposition SNA, including Ahrar al-Sham and Army of Islam.
The Special Representative commended the work of child protection partners on the ground, noting that the context in Syria remains one of the direst amongst the situations on the children and armed conflict agenda with appalling consequences for children.

The Special Representative highlighted the importance of actions plans to engage with parties to conflict, a strong tool of the CAAC mandate since 2003, per Security Council Resolution 1539 (2004).

The Special Representative urged all parties to work towards a political solution in accordance with UN Security Council resolution 2254 (2015) to bring sustainable peace to the country, as this remains the best most sustainable path to end and prevent grave violations against children.

Note to editors

The Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict gathers information and reports on how and where children are affected by armed conflict. Parties who commit grave violations against children in any of the 25 conflict situations and the regional monitoring on her agenda are added to the annexes of the Secretary-General Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict.

The six grave violations against children are: the recruitment and use of children; the killing and maiming of children; rape and other forms of sexual violence; abduction of children; attack on schools and hospitals; and the denial of humanitarian access.

The recruitment and use of children led to the listing of the Free Syrian Army since 2013, Ahrar al-Sham since 2014 and Army of Islam since 2017. The killing and maiming of children led to the listing of Ahrar al-Sham in 2016. In 2021, Syrian armed opposition groups (formerly known as the Free Syrian Army) were listed in the Annexes of the Secretary-General’s report on children and armed conflict as the opposition Syrian National Army, including Ahrar al-Sham and Army of Islam, to reflect the composition of these groups.
An action plan is a written commitment between the United Nations and a party to conflict listed in the Secretary-General’s report on children and armed conflict for one or more grave violations committed against children (A/72/865–S/2018/465). Each action plan outlines concrete, time-bound steps, in line with international law, aimed at improving the protection of children.

Listed parties in the Syrian Arab Republic as per the latest Secretary-General Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict (A/77/895-S/2023/363).
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For more information, please contact:
Ariane Lignier, Communications Officer, Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict: ariane.lignier@un.org