Mazlum Ebdi, General Commander of the Syrian Democratic  Forces (SDF), has issued a military instruction confirming that the SDF are implementing the relevant “international legal instruments on the rights and protection of children affected by armed conflict in Syria including the United Nations 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Protocols that restricts the involvement of children in military conflicts (2000)”.

The SDF has instructed all units that children under the age of 18 are prohibited from joining the SDF and that it is “strictly prohibited to recruit them”.

The order goes further stating that “every member of SDF forces under the age of 18 (if founded) must be transferred directly to the concerned civil authority (Authority for Education) of the Northern Syria administration, after taking his/her full record”.

The order also states that those who do not comply with such directive will be sanctioned. 

Copy of this important clarification has been sent to the Administration of Northern Syria but also to the UN Secretary General Office, UN-UNICEF, UN-Security Council among other institutions.