Syrian Arab Republic
Syrian Arab Republic
Middle East
Endorsements
Not Endorsed
Not Endorsed
Not Endorsed
Not Endorsed
Relevant UN Resolutions
GCPEA Education Under Attack
Profiled in: 2022, 2020, 2018, 2014
Other GCPEA Publications
Other Important Information
Memberships in International Regional Organizations
Peacekeeping
Key Information
Key information about the country.
In March 2011, popular discontent with the rule of Bashar al-Assad triggered large scale protests and pro-democracy rallies across Syria, as part of the wider Arab Spring protests in the region. After months of crackdown by the government’s forces, various armed rebel groups began forming across the country, marking the beginning of the Syrian insurgency. By mid-2012, the crisis had escalated into a full-blown civil war.
Receiving arms from NATO and GCC states, rebel forces initially made significant advances against the government forces, who were receiving arms from Iran and Russia. Consequently, in September 2015, Russia launched a military intervention in support of the government, shifting the balance of the conflict. By late 2018, all rebel strongholds, except parts of Idlib region, had fallen to the government forces.
In 2014, the Islamic State group seized control of large parts of Eastern Syria and Western Iraq, prompting the US-led CJTF coalition to launch an aerial bombing campaign against it, while providing ground support to the Kurdish-majority Syrian Democratic Forces. Culminating in the Battle of Raqqa, the Islamic State was territorially defeated by late 2017. In August 2016, Turkey launched a multi-pronged invasion of northern Syria, in response to the creation of Rojava, while also fighting Islamic State and government forces in the process. Since the March 2020 Idlib ceasefire, the frontline fighting during the conflict has mostly subsided, and has been characterized by regular skirmishes.
Advocacy Engagements
Engagements with this state or any other relevant information that can support advocacy.
February 2017: HRW presented the Guidelines to Syrian armed groups in a meeting organized by Geneva Call.
March 2017: Attended Buenos Aires Conference on Safe Schools.
September 2017: Human Rights Watch issued a press release, a report, and a video on a US-led coalition attack on a school in Raqqa, Syria. Human Rights Watch found that ISIS fighters were at the attack sites, but so were dozens, perhaps hundreds, of civilians. The coalition was called upon to conduct thorough, prompt, and impartial investigations of the attacks, do everything feasible to prevent similar attacks, and provide compensation or condolence payments to people who suffered losses due to the coalition’s operations. Save the Children US issued a press release highlighting the forced closure of hundreds of schools in Syria as a result of fighting. Audio interviews with a school principal in Idlib and a school counsellor in Aleppo are available here.
January 2018: www.hrw.org/news/2018/01/11/syria-children-under-attack-damascus-enclave Attacks by Syrian-Russian forces in an area near Damascus in late October and early November 2017 killed eight children and destroyed or damaged four schools, Human Rights Watch said today. The attacks on Eastern Ghouta, 15 kilometers from the Syrian capital, resulted in the closing of schools, depriving many children in the besieged area of access to education.
April 2018: The Education Cluster published a visual on attacks on schools based on MRM data, which includes the statistic that in one in ten of verified attacks on schools, the schools were also verified as being under military use at the time of attack.
March 2019: Clustered Interactive Dialogue with the SRSG Ms. Virginia Gamba, HRC Geneva:referred to the issue of attacks on/or and military use of schools.
April 2019: No Lost Generation published the report, Investing in the Future: Protection and Learning for all Syrian Children and Youth. The report puts forward key messages for policy makers and stakeholders meeting at the conference on Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region in Brussels, including a recommendation for all parties to the conflict to implement the Guidelines and for the government of Syria to endorse the Safe Schools Declaration.
September 2019: The Education cluster made a statement on North West Syria situation, calling upon parties to the conflict to take additional measures to ensure attacks on education stop immediately to allow children to return to education, feel safe in and around the schools and study without fear and interruptions. Read the full statement here.
January 2020: The Commission of Inquiry on Syria released a conference room paper headlined “They have erased the dreams of my children” with a section on attacks on schools, including information on the school attacks in Eastern Ghouta in October-November 2017. In relation to attacks on education, the Commission recommends that: all parties to the conflict immediately halt the targeting schools and educational facilities, and enforce special protection regulations granted to schools, education personnel and students. Moreover, the Commission urges the Government of Syria to endorse and implement the Safe School Declaration; all parties to the conflict should immediately put an end to the military use of schools and return the infrastructure to educational authorities in place with the aim of assigning the infrastructure to the original purpose;
February 2020: Save the Children and UNICEF issued a press release and a statement following the shelling of ten schools in Idblib on 25 February 2020 – the highest number of schools hit by attacks in Idlib in a single day since at least the start of 2019. UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore briefed the United Nations Security Council on the situation for children in Syria on 27 February 2020, including on the attacks against schools.
March 2020: On Syria HRC resolution, GCPEA provided language on attacks on and military use of schools. It is likely that the resolution will be tabled and adopted without any drastic changes. Here are the relevant paragraphs in the draft resolution: pp15 Recalling further that deliberate attacks on civilians and civilian objects, such as schools and educational facilities, Op 9 Strongly condemns all attacks against the civilian population and civilian objects, such as schools, op 22 Strongly condemns the use of schools for military purposes, and takes note of the Commission’s findings that children’s experiences in the Syrian conflict have been deeply gendered.
Save the Children issued a new report on the impact of attacks on education in north west Syria. According to key informant interviews, military occupation occurs in schools that have been abandoned by education actors. The report also presents that schools have developed a code of conduct that prevents teachers from wearing camouflaged attire, carrying a weapon or any military-related outward signs in schools.
Save the Children, World Vision, and the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative released new satellite imagery of Idlib and analysis showing destruction of civilian infrastructure. They are calling on all warring parties to protect schools and other vital civilian infrastructure from attacks.
Human Rights Watch published an article on the impact of Syria war on children, calling on the Syrian-Russian military alliance to immediately stop indiscriminate attacks on civilian buildings.
New York times also reported that schools had been targeted by Russian and Syrian forces.
Syria Relief released a report detailing the devastating impact the deliberate targeting of schools is having on Syrian children and the wider education system. The report makes a recommendation to the government to sign the Safe Schools Declaration.
April 2020: Report of the United Nations Headquarters Board of Inquiry into certain incidents in northwest Syria since September 2017.After investigating attacks against seven protected sites – including one school, Martyr Akram Ali Ibrahim al-Ahmad Secondary School in Madiq Castle, Hama province, on 28 April 2019, the Board found that it was “highly probable” that five attacks are “attributable to the Government of Syria and/or its allies.” NGOs including Human Rights Watch expressed disappointment on the findings, in particular the absence of attributing responsibility and naming the parties in this respect.
UN Standards
Good Practice
What, if anything, the country has done to protect education and/or implement any of the 8 commitments outlined in the Declaration.
In 2020 the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) issued a military directive to protect schools and education by prohibiting the military use of schools by its forces, including placing equipment or weapons near them. The military directive followed the vacating of 10 schools by the SDF as the result of continued advocacy by the UN and partners.
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In northern Syria, temporary, makeshift schools staffed by both trained and untrained volunteer teachers were set up in more secure villages when parents in some areas had been afraid to send their children to their regular local schools.
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Not established
Relevant Contacts
Contact information of the representatives of Permanent Missions, national Ministries, and focal points for the State-led Implementation Network.
General Email(s):
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Other Contacts:
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General Email(s):
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Other Contacts:
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