SOS Children’s Villages continues supporting children in Syria during transition

SOS Children’s Villages is actively supporting family tracing and reunification in Syria, while continuing to support children and young people without parental care. We stand with families searching for their children, and we are committed to uncovering the truth about children who were forcibly separated from their families and placed in care by the former regime. 

During the Syrian war, many children were forcibly and unnecessarily separated from their families by authorities and placed into care, often without proper documentation. In this time of extraordinary instability, these placements reflected the absence of a child protection system grounded in international standards – in particular the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the UN Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children.  

SOS Children’s Villages condemns the former regime’s practices of forcibly separating children from their families and assigning falsified or incorrect names to children. We acknowledge that, under that regime, some children who had been forcibly separated from their families were referred to our care without the necessary documentation. 

We took decisive action in 2018 to halt the placements of children into our care without proper documentation. It is our firm belief that children should never be separated from their families unless it is in their best interest – and only through a documented, child-centered process. 

We recognize that, despite our best intentions, not all decisions made during this time met the high standards to which we hold ourselves. Learning from these shortcomings, we have taken active steps to ensure this does not happen again.

Child Protection:

• Since 2020, under new leadership, SOS Children’s Villages Syria improved operations through stronger alignment with international child protection and safeguarding standards  and significantly strengthened transparency for its activities.

Leadership & Governance: 

On 1 May 2025, Ms. Samar Daboul, the President of the Board of SOS Children’s Villages Syria, stepped down to allow ongoing investigations to proceed without any impediment.  

• On 29 July 2025, the Board of SOS Children’s Villages Syria suspended the National Director of SOS Children’s Villages Syria, Samer Khaddam, to ensure a smooth and impartial investigation process. In the interim, Mr. Mohammad Fateh Mohammad Haitham Al-Abbasi has assumed the responsibilities of the National Director.

Investigations:

SOS Children’s Villages has commissioned two international independent investigations, aimed at ensuring that our actions are transparent, accountable and guided by the rights and best interest of the children involved.  The summary report of the independent investigation commissioned by our German member association SOS Kinderdörfer Weltweit can be found here.   

At our request, the Damascus Prosecutor has initiated investigations into unresolved cases of missing children. 

The suspended National Director of SOS Children's Villages Syria is currently being held by the Syrian Criminal Investigation Department of the Ministry of the Interior. He was summoned as a witness in connection with ongoing investigations into the forced separation of children by the former regime – investigations that we requested and fully support. He voluntarily appeared before authorities on 17 August to give evidence. We are not aware of any charges against him. We remain committed to transparency and cooperation with all relevant authorities, but cannot provide further details while the situation remains under review.

Family Tracing & Reunification:

• To support family tracing and reunification efforts, we actively encourage individuals to submit inquiries via our reporting channels if they believe a child may have been forcibly separated from their family and placed in our programmes. All reports are reviewed carefully and handled in line with our safeguarding and data protection policies. We ensure that no child or individual experiences negative consequences for speaking up.
• Findings from our comprehensive records review continue to inform our responses to family tracing inquiries. According to our review, 139* children without proper documentation were placed in interim alternative care at SOS Children’s Villages in Syria between 2013 and 2018. Of the 139 placements:
   
  • 34 children were reunited with their families. 
  • One child was referred to a disability centre.
  • 104 children were referred back to the authorities. SOS Children’s Villages has no information about their subsequent whereabouts.
     
• We are actively collaborating on the ground with government institutions, communities, intergovernmental and humanitarian organizations to support transparent tracing processes and enable family reunification. Findings from our review have been shared with the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour.  Since the fall of the regime, SOS Children’s Villages Syria has successfully reunified 14 children in our care with their families.

We understand the deep distress experienced by families still unable to reunite with their loved ones, and we stand with all those seeking the truth and finding closure. We urge all parties to approach this effort with care, compassion and respect for privacy. All efforts to support family tracing must prioritize the safety and dignity of children and families.  

We are deeply concerned by recent online posts speculating about the identity of children previously in our care and targeting staff with unverified accusations. SOS Children’s Villages condemns any form of doxxing, harassment, or publication of children’s images without their explicit consent. These actions not only spread misinformation, they also risk causing harm to those involved. Such actions undermine safeguarding principles and may retraumatize affected individuals.  

In everything we do – and every decision we make – in each country and territory where we work, the rights, safety, and dignity of children and young people remain our moral compass. Working in conflict environments with weak national child protection poses exceptional challenges. We continue to learn from the past – not to dwell in it, but to do better, every day, to the benefit of all our work worldwide.     

As the world’s largest organization supporting children without parental care or at risk of losing it, our work is grounded in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. We will continue standing with children and youth in Syria and in over 130 countries and territories where we work as long as we can — protecting them, empowering them, and helping them grow with the bonds they need to thrive.

* In addition to the 139 cases, there is one disputed case where classification in this group is unclear.