Syria’s Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor announced that investigations into the case of missing children have been assigned to the Anti-Terrorism Branch in coordination with the Ministry of Interior.
In a statement issued on Monday, August 3, the ministry said the agreement with the Interior Ministry included forming a dedicated security team to coordinate with all relevant security agencies. It also established an official and direct communication channel with the families of missing children to ensure they are regularly and confidentially informed of developments in the case.
The ministry added that the agreement included expanding the exchange of information between the two ministries to create a comprehensive map that would accelerate efforts to determine the missing children’s fate and achieve tangible results.
The agreement was reached during a meeting attended by Interior Minister Anas Khattab, Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Hind Kabawat, a group of relatives of missing children, and Raghda Zeidan, head of the Committee for the Search and Investigation into Detainees’ Children. Committee members, volunteers, and representatives of security and investigative bodies also attended.
Participants discussed mechanisms for searching for missing children and reviewed the field challenges and criminal cases associated with the issue.
194 Children Reunited With Their Families
Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Hind Kabawat previously announced the results of the committee investigating the fate of children whose parents were detained or forcibly disappeared by the former regime.
In a video published by the ministry on YouTube on April 10, Kabawat said the results included:
- Documenting 314 cases involving detainees’ children who had been placed in ministry-run care homes.
- Reuniting 194 children with their families. She did not specify whether the 150 children previously announced were included in this figure.
- A large number of files remain under follow-up and investigation. Minister Kabawat added that the committee is currently following 612 cases involving children placed with other families under Syrian law, and is verifying whether any detained children are among these cases.
The minister confirmed that investigations into files from 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 had been completed, while work was continuing on cases from the remaining years.
She said the ministry prioritizes transparency, respect for families’ suffering, and Syrians’ right to know the fate of their children. Developments related to the committee’s work are being presented to the public on an ongoing basis.
3,700 Children Missing
The Syrian Network for Human Rights documented on January 23, 2025, the enforced disappearance of approximately 3,700 children by the Syrian regime since March 2011. It said the fate of most of them remained unknown despite the fall of the Assad regime.
The network called for an urgent investigation into associations and institutions that received children from security agencies during the years of conflict. It said the Syrian regime pursued detention policies that affected thousands of children, either alongside their families or separately. Reports also indicated that children born inside detention centers were transferred to orphanages and care facilities.
According to the network, some institutions, including SOS Children’s Villages, received children without documents proving their identities. These practices continued until 2019, when the organization changed its admission procedures and began requiring identifying information for children.