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Syria

Echoes From Syria Issue 2 - July 2014 [EN/AR]

Attachments

Introduction

Families are frequently torn apart as a result of forced displacement pushing them to flee their homes on short notice which affects the most vulnerable family members including children who could become separated or unaccompanied.

The family represents an important source of protection in itself as it unites individuals and provides physical, social, legal, material and emotional stability and support to its members, in particular for children. The unity of the family can prevent exposure to various risks and help minimize the effects of displacement on individuals and communities.

A separated child is any child that has been separated from both parents or from other legal or customary primary caregiver/s but not necessarily from other relatives.

The conflict which erupted in Syria in March 2011 has caused more than six million people to be displaced across the country of which some 50% are children. This situation has triggered a worrisome human rights situation.

Although there is no comprehensive needs assessment of the situation on the ground in Syria, it is estimated that there is a significant number of separated and unaccompanied children resulting from mass displacement. While some of the unaccompanied and separated children have left to neighboring countries, others are living in institutions or on their own without proper care and follow up.
There is also a number of child-headed families without support by any adult relative or caretaker.

An unaccompanied child is any child who has been separated from both parents and other relatives and who is not being cared for by an adult who, by law or custom, is responsible for doing so.

Children without parental care in Syria prior to the crisis tended to be cared for on an informal basis, by grandparents or other members of the extended family, or by persons or families in the wider community, and this has continued during the crisis. This spontaneous fostering may mean that the incidence of separated children has been under-reported. 74% of respondents to the Child Protection Remote Assessment conducted by the Global Child Protection Cluster reported that there were separated children as a result of the conflict, 40% of respondents reported there were unaccompanied children.

As a result of separation from their families due to forced displacement, children in Syria face a wide range of protection risks including neglect, abuse and exploitation, forced labor, trafficking, limited access to education, and forcible recruitment into armed forces or armed groups.