Syrian teen Sila shares war story at UN Security Council
The Syrian Civil War has inflicted profound and lasting trauma on millions of children, exemplified by the testimony of Sila, a 17-year-old survivor who shared her harrowing experiences at a UN Security Council meeting on June 25, 2025. Her account, alongside the Secretary-General’s latest report on Children and Armed Conflict, reveals the devastating scale of violations against children in Syria and other conflict zones worldwide. This analysis synthesizes key findings, contextualizes Syria’s crisis within global trends, and underscores the urgent need for enhanced protection and accountability.
Sila’s Testimony and the Human Face of Conflict
Sila’s testimony before the UN Security Council personalized the abstract statistics of child suffering in Syria. As a young survivor, her story embodies the ongoing impact of a conflict that has spanned over a decade, disrupting childhoods and futures. Her presence at the Security Council highlighted the importance of including affected children’s voices in international deliberations, reinforcing the human cost behind the numbers.
Grave violations against children: Global and Syrian data
The Secretary-General’s 2024 report documents a staggering 32,990 UN-verified grave violations against children globally—the highest since the Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism’s inception. More than 473 million children, or one in six worldwide, live in conflict-affected areas, exposing them to killings, maimings, recruitment, sexual violence, and denial of humanitarian aid. In the first half of 2024 alone, over 18,000 violations were verified across multiple countries including Burkina Faso, Myanmar, Ukraine, and notably Syria.
Syria remains among the most severely affected nations. In 2023, 1,574 grave violations were reported, reflecting persistent violence against children. Since the conflict’s onset in 2011, millions of Syrian children have endured killings, maimings, recruitment as child soldiers—even as young as six years old—sexual violence, torture, and deprivation of basic needs such as food, water, and medical care. The UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria has documented the use of sniper fire, cluster munitions, and chemical weapons by pro-government forces targeting schools and hospitals, while armed groups and terrorist organizations have also caused significant child casualties.
Displacement, education, and detention
The humanitarian fallout is staggering: over 5 million Syrian children are internally displaced or refugees, facing heightened vulnerability to exploitation and abuse. Thousands of schools have been destroyed or militarized, depriving more than 2 million children of regular education. Additionally, approximately 11,000 children over age 12 are detained with adults under precarious conditions, many suspected of affiliations with Islamic State fighters.
Recent escalations in early 2025 in Syria’s Latakia and Tartus provinces resulted in at least 13 child deaths, including a six-month-old infant, underscoring the ongoing dangers faced by civilians amid renewed fighting. Infrastructure damage, including hospitals and ambulances, has further exacerbated children’s suffering.
Broader global context and UN efforts
The Syrian crisis reflects a broader global trend of increasing violence against children in armed conflict. The UN continues to advocate for the protection of children, urging all parties to respect international humanitarian and human rights law and to hold violators accountable. Since 1999, over 200,000 children have been released from armed forces and groups through UN-facilitated dialogue, with 43 action plans signed and 22 implemented to prevent recruitment and abuse.
In June 2024, the Syrian National Army signed an action plan to end and prevent recruitment, use, killing, and maiming of children, marking a positive step amid ongoing challenges. However, recruitment and detention of children persist, alongside dire humanitarian conditions in camps and detention centers.
The Humanitarian crisis: Nutrition, health, and psychological impact
The conflict has precipitated a child food poverty crisis, with over 75% of children aged 6-23 months affected by malnutrition and food insecurity. Health services remain limited, increasing vulnerability to disease and injury. Psychological trauma is widespread; many children suffer anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder, with limited access to mental health care.
Explosive remnants of war continue to pose lethal threats. Between December 2024 and March 2025, at least 188 children were killed or injured by landmines and unexploded ordnance, averaging two children daily. These injuries often result in lifelong disabilities, compounding the hardships faced by survivors.
Education disruption and lost opportunities
Education disruption in Syria has reached catastrophic levels, severely impacting millions of children and threatening the future stability of an entire generation. According to recent reports, approximately 2.4 million Syrian children are currently out of school, representing one of the most significant educational crises in recent history. This staggering figure reflects the prolonged and devastating effects of the Syrian Civil War on the country’s educational infrastructure and the lives of its youngest citizens.
One of the primary reasons for this widespread educational disruption is the extensive damage and destruction inflicted on schools throughout the conflict. Thousands of schools have been destroyed, damaged, or rendered unusable due to direct attacks, shelling, and prolonged fighting. Many educational facilities have also been repurposed as shelters for internally displaced persons (IDPs), further limiting their availability for teaching and learning. This dual use of schools not only deprives children of safe learning environments but also underscores the broader humanitarian crisis faced by displaced families seeking refuge amid ongoing violence.
The consequences of such disruption extend far beyond the immediate loss of classroom time. Education is a critical foundation for personal development, social cohesion, and economic opportunity. The absence of schooling for millions of children risks creating a “lost generation”—young people deprived of essential skills, knowledge, and social interaction necessary for their growth and future contributions to society. Without access to consistent education, these children face increased vulnerability to exploitation, recruitment into armed groups, child labor, and other harmful circumstances.
Furthermore, the interruption of education exacerbates existing inequalities, disproportionately affecting girls, children with disabilities, and those living in remote or conflict-affected areas. Many children who have missed years of schooling struggle to re-enter the education system due to lack of resources, psychosocial trauma, and economic pressures on their families. This creates a vicious cycle where educational deprivation fuels poverty and instability, undermining prospects for peace and reconstruction.
Efforts to address this crisis have included the establishment of temporary learning spaces, accelerated education programs, and psychosocial support initiatives. However, these measures face significant challenges, including insecurity, limited funding, and the sheer scale of displacement. The international community, including UNICEF and other humanitarian organizations, continues to advocate for increased investment in education as a vital component of Syria’s recovery and long-term peacebuilding.
In conclusion, the disruption of education in Syria represents one of the most profound and far-reaching impacts of the conflict on children. Restoring access to quality education is essential not only for the well-being of individual children but also for the broader stability and future development of Syrian society. Without urgent and sustained action, the risk of a lost generation will become an enduring legacy of this tragic war.
Reflecting the crisis
Sergio Pinheiro, Chair of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria, poignantly stated:
“Children are brutally scarred from the Syrian conflict. They have been robbed of their childhood. This is a tragedy that will endure for years to come.”
UNICEF Regional Director Edouard Beigbeder emphasized:
“The children of Syria have suffered enough. They have the right to live in peace and hope for a better future.”
Hanny Megally, a UN Commission member, highlighted the preventable nature of many child deaths:
“Children may be dying under bombardments. But actually what we are seeing is — and this is what is shocking — children are dying preventable deaths as a result of lack of humanitarian assistance and medical aid.”
Urgent need for protection and accountability
The testimony of Sila and the Secretary-General’s report collectively illuminate the catastrophic impact of the Syrian Civil War on children and the broader global crisis of children in armed conflict. The scale of violations, displacement, and deprivation demands urgent, sustained international action to protect children’s rights, ensure access to humanitarian aid, and hold perpetrators accountable.
Efforts to disengage children from armed groups, implement action plans, and provide education and psychosocial support are critical to mitigating harm and fostering recovery. Yet, the persistent recruitment, detention, and exposure to violence underscore the fragility of progress.
As the international community reflects on these findings, the voices of survivors like Sila must guide policies and interventions aimed at restoring childhood, dignity, and hope to millions of children caught in the crossfire of war.
