A/HRC/38/29 I. Introduction 1. In its resolution 36/20, the Human Rights Council decided to convene, at its thirtyseventh session, a high-level panel discussion on violations of the human rights of children in the Syrian Arab Republic, in consultation with the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, with a specific focus on attacks against children, including attacks on schools and hospitals and denial of humanitarian access. The Council asked that the discussion feature witness testimony and Syrian voices, including children’s views, through appropriate and safe means. The Council requested the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to prepare a summary report on the high-level panel discussion for submission at its thirty-eighth session. 2. Pursuant to the resolution, the Human Rights Council held the high-level panel discussion on 13 March 2018, during its thirty-seventh session. 3. The President of the Human Rights Council, Vojislav Šuc, chaired the panel discussion, and opening statements were delivered by the United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, Kate Gilmore, and the Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syrian crisis, Panos Moumtzis. 4. The panel was moderated by Gunilla von Hall, foreign correspondent in Geneva for the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet. The panellists were a co-founding member of Hurras Network (a Syrian child protection network), Alaa Zaza; the Director of Children of One World, Haysam Osman; and lawyer and co-founder of Urnammu for Justice and Human Rights, Ibrahim Alkasem. II. Opening statements 5. The United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights reminded participants that the conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic had started with the denigration of a child, referring to the detention and torture of 13-year-old Hamza Ali al-Khateeb, in 2011. The conflict was not only denying millions of children their fundamental rights, but it was also robbing them of their childhood. Nearly two thirds of the 8.35 million children in the Syrian Arab Republic required humanitarian assistance, with more than 1 million living in hard-to-reach areas and 170,000 in besieged areas. An entire generation of Syrians was making the journey from childhood to adulthood cowered by unending bombardment, under the shadow of constant violence, living in permanent fear, and deprived of basic goods and services. The Deputy High Commissioner referred to the deprivation of the right to education and health experienced by children in the Syrian Arab Republic. 6. Prolonged high-intensity conflict across the Syrian Arab Republic in 2017 had resulted in the highest verified number of grave violations against children since 2012. Widespread human rights violations and violations of international humanitarian law affecting children had been committed by the Syrian authorities and by armed groups. The scale, scope and gravity of crimes committed against children were shocking. 7. Homes, ambulance bases, hospitals and schools had been ruthlessly targeted by all parties to the conflict, even though under international law they should be sanctuaries for children. The catastrophic humanitarian situation in the country underscored the failure of the international community to protect civilians, most notably children. The Deputy High Commissioner asked how many children would die in the current year and how much longer the international community would tolerate the intolerable suffering of children in the Syrian Arab Republic. 8. The Deputy High Commissioner ended her statement by stressing the importance of the accountability of all parties to the conflict. In that regard, she called upon the Human Rights Council to renew the mandate of the Commission of Inquiry and called upon States to support the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism to Assist in the Investigation and Prosecution of Persons Responsible for the Most Serious Crimes under 2