Brussels V Conference - Supporting the future of Syria and the region
No Lost Generation has released an advocacy brief shedding light on the increasing needs of Syrian children. Our recommendations, including those coming out of our side event, informed the Syria V Brussels Conference discussions on children's needs.
In preparation of the Brussels V Conference on the Future of Syria and the region, we released an advocacy brief highlighting the costs of 10 years of war on Syrian children. Ten years since the war started in Syria, the triple crises of continued conflict, economic downturn and the COVID-19 pandemic have exacerbated the situation for Syria's children, pushing them and their families to the brink, inside Syria as well as in the five refugee host countries.
In this context, No Lost Generation partners continue to provide support to children, adolescents and youth, within the framework of the Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan (3RP) and the Syria Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP), committed to ensure that a whole generation of children is not lost while the search for an end to the conflict and durable solutions continues.
Moving ahead, NLG is prioritizing work in the following areas: (1) Keep learning going for all Syrian children and adolescents; (2) Address child marriage and child labour; (3) Help Syrian adolescents and youth in the transition from education to employment and (4) Provide systematic and sustainable mental health and psychosocial support.
Our side-event "What is next for Syria's children? The impact of a decade of war in Syria and neighbouring countries'
On March 24, No Lost Generation partners organized a side-event to the Brussels V Conference, entitled "What is next for Syria's children? The impact of a decade of war in Syria and neighbouring countries". Co-sponsored by Irish Aid and BMZ, the webinar explored the costs of the conflict and associated consequences for children and communities. Panelists unpacked the current needs of Syrian children, adolescents and young people, and the next steps to address these if we are to keep our promise of a no lost generation.
The event started with a panel composed of young Syrian who shared their own perspectives, dreams and fears. Key stakeholders drew on the evidence of NLG members and specialist agencies, discussing access to education, harmful coping mechanisms, the transition from education to employment and mental wellbeing.
It is our responsibility
As we are entering the 11th year of war in Syria, Dr. Ahmed Al-Meraikhi, Special Adviser to UN Secretary-General and NLG champion shares with us an important message on the child rights crisis in Syria. In an article, Dr. Al-Meraikhi calls for a greater support to national child protection systems and legal framework and for a sustainable and improved psychological support to Syrian children.
He also tells us about a conversation he recently had with Bana, a young Syrian girl he first met in 2017 as part of a No Lost Generation event. Bana is one of many Syrian children who have been affected by forced displacement. Since 2017, she had been displaced three times.
Together with No Lost Generation, Dr. Al-Meraikhi recommends governments to scale up their effort to seek a political solution and stop the war. It is time to bring peace to Syria. The conflict must stop now so every child is safe and protected from harm.