A/HRC/43/CRP.6 D. Children in detention “They [Government forces] are afraid of boys older than 12 at check points. They threaten them with guns and slap them in the face. It doesn’t matter if the boy is wanted or not; he goes to the detention centre.” Woman discussing the situation of boys and young men in southern Syria, 2013 50. In violation of the special protection afforded to children, parties to the conflict detained girls and boys and subjected them to a myriad of violations, as well as denying them access to psychological support or medical care. Children affected by armed conflict must be treated humanely, protected from violence and situations in which there is a risk to cause them harm, including any form of torture or degrading treatment. 37 Government forces 51. While parties to the conflict throughout the Syrian Arab Republic committed violations of the most fundamental human rights perpetrated by all parties on the ground through their detention practices, nowhere has the phenomenon been more pervasive than in areas under government control.38 Since 2011, widespread arrests of men and boys as young as 15 were conducted by security forces or militia acting on behalf of the Government, during mass arrests, house searches or in hospitals. Boys and, on occasions, girls have been detained either unaccompanied or together with male relatives based on their perceived support of opposition groups at checkpoints in Aleppo, Damascus and Dar’a. 52. In detention, as in the case for adults, children were denied the legal protections they are entitled to and were subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. Chilling accounts collected from victims and witnesses over the years demonstrate blatant violations of children’s rights, including perpetrating sexual violence39 and torture40 as well as beatings with objects such as pipes. 53. On occasions, children were also deprived of food and vital medical care,41 whipped and used to coerce confessions from their parents. The presence of male and female detainees as young as 11 was recorded in Security Branches 215, 227, 235 and 248 in Damascus. Torture and rape of minors was reported in Branches 215 and 235. The Commission has documented cases of children as young as seven dying in State custody. 54. Children witnessed the torture or other inhumane treatment inflicted on family members, and, on occasions, were forced to inflict torture on other detainees. One interviewee, detained in 2014 and held in the Qamishli Security Branch, described how a 16year-old boy was forced to electrocute the genitals of another detainee. Female detainees held with young children recalled being denied medical assistance and food for their babies including in cases when children were visibly ill. 55. Boys and girls have been used by detention authorities and guards to clean the facilities, cook for guards and prisoners and to perform other logistic and support roles for the management of the detention facilities. Interviewees described seeing children cleaning at the Mezzeh Airport Branch, and often hearing them being beaten and crying at night. The Commission received accounts of children born in detention facilities and immediately separated from their mothers with their fate and whereabouts unknown. Non-state armed groups and terrorist organizations 56. These pervasive abuses are, however, not limited to the auspices of Government forces. Armed groups, including Jabhat al-Islamiyya, Ahrar Al-Sham, and Jabhat al-Nusra, 37 38 39 40 41 14 See ICRC Rule 120 and 118. See, generally, “Out of Sight, Out of Mind: Deaths in Detention in the Syrian Arab Republic”, conference room paper A/HRC/31/CRP.1 See ICRC Rule 93 noting that “Rape and other forms of sexual violence are prohibited.” See ICRC Rule 90 stating that “Torture, cruel or inhuman treatment and outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment, are prohibited.” See ICRC Rule 118 noting that “Persons deprived of their liberty must be provided with adequate food, water, clothing, shelter and medical attention.”