Background
During the Syrian Civil war, government authorities of the Assad regime systematically separated children from families of detained or disappeared people. [1] [2] These actions mainly targeted those accused of actions against the regime. Many of these children, who were mainly newborns or toddlers, were given fake identities, making it hard for their parents to find them. [1] [3] [4] During that time period, many aid programs, led by International humanitarian groups, attempted to help children in Syria. Assads' government had control over which children were sent to care centers, and which were sent to orphanages managed by the aid organizations. [1] [3] [4]
Reports claim that 3,700 children in Syria are still missing, even though expert say the numbers are much higher. [5] [6] Even though it has been almost a year since the fall of Assad's regime, many families have no answers to the whereabouts of their children. [1] [2] [7]
Investigations
In 2023 and 2024, Lighthouse Reports led an investigation on Syria's missing children, along with other news agencies like the BBC and The New York Times. The investigation discovered that the Syrian intelligence led a secret operation in which it sent children of jailed dissidents to orphanages. [1] [4] [8] Some of the orphanages were directly linked to SOS Children’s Villages International. [1] [4] [8]
According to their investigations, at least 360 children were taken from their homes and families, and could not be found. Their families claim the children were given to SOS facilities without their permission or any official records. [1] [4] [8] SOS Children's Villages admitted that they took in 139 children from Syrian authorities from 2014 to 2018. Many of them arrived without proper documentation. The organization claimed that at some stage, it requested the Syrian government to stop sending children without proper documentation, and that it later returned most of the children to state care. [5] [8] [4] The organization said it did not know it was doing anything wrong, explaining that it had to work under tough rules and did not have full information about the children’s history. In 2023, it reported the case of missing children from one family to the Syrian public prosecutor and also started internal reforms to better check how children are admitted. [1] [2] [8] [5]
As of September 2025, investigations continue inside SOS Children’s Villages International and by Syria's court system, aiming to find the missing children and who is responsible. According to SOS Children’s Villages Syria, it will support these investigation efforts, help protect children's rights and reunite them with their families. [1] [9] [3]
According to the reported investigation, no other Western or international charities have been directly linked to child abductions. Groups like Save the Children have only reported on violence and kidnappings of Syrian children by governments and armed groups, without showing that aid organizations were involved. [1] [10] [11]
International reaction
The publications about the investigation rouse a strong reaction from human rights organizations, donors, and oversight bodies like the UK Charity Commission and the EU. Many of them are demanding full accountability, compensation for the families, and clear answers about what happened to the missing children. [4] [1]
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