Statement of the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Violence against Children calling upon Syria to protect children from violence.pdf (application/pdf Object)

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Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General
on Violence against Children
Statement
SRSG Santos Pais calls upon Syria to protect children from violence
New York, 3 June 2011 – The Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children, Marta Santos Pais, expresses her deep concern at the continued acts of violence perpetrated against children in the context of the on-going unrest in Syria.
The Special Representative urges the Government of Syria to ensure the protection of all children from violence, in accordance with its obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the commitments it has undertaken in the Marrakesh Declaration, adopted last December by the Fourth Arab High Level Conference on the Rights of the Child.
Violence against children must stop and children’s safety must be upheld at all times.
Children need to be protected from unlawful arrest, torture and ill-treatment, and their lives should not be put at risk under any circumstance.
Children’s right to medical care and to social and protection services must be guaranteed. Child victims and witnesses of violence must be supported in their process of healing, recovery and reintegration. In this respect, psycho-social programmes should be provided as a matter of urgency to help these children overcome the trauma they have endured and face the future with confidence.
The Special Representative calls for a thorough and impartial investigation of all reported child deaths and incidents of violence against children, including alleged cases of unlawful arrest in demonstrations, and torture in detention.
It is urgent to fight impunity and establish a credible system of accountability for these serious child rights violations.
Marta Santos Pais, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children
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For further information, please contact:
Miguel Caldeira
Communications Specialist
Office of the SRSG on Violence against Children
Tel: +1 212 824 6763
Cell: +1 917 402 8971
Email: mcaldeira@unicef.org
http://srsg.violenceagainstchildren.org
http://facebook.com/msantospais
http://twitter.com/srsgvac