Meeting with YPG/YPJ leaders

A few hours after our arrival in a city near Qamishili, we meet with Redur Xelil and Nasrin Abdallah, both spokespersons and commanders of the YPG and YPJ, respectively. They are responsible for implementing the Deed of Commitment in the ranks of the YPG/YPJ, which purportedly counts 35,000 combatants.

They start the discussion with interesting news from the front line. They have just learnt that negotiations with ISIS for the liberation of 34 Assyrian (a Christian ethnic group) detainees had been successful. We are surprised that negotiations with ISIS could even happen.

Meeting between Geneva Call’s representatives and YPG/YPG representatives. November 2015. © Geneva Call

We now initiate discussions on a series of allegations — sometimes confirmed by the YPG/YPJ themselves — of child recruitment. As they did in the past, they recognize that the issue of child recruitment is a persistent one, and they reaffirm their willingness to uphold the obligations of the Deed.

They once again highlight the difficulties they are facing in terms of implementation. According to them, many children under 18 want to join YPG/YPJ voluntarily, mainly for the following reasons:

The lack of other options as many schools are closed

Domestic violence and forced marriage

Poverty in their families

Propaganda by YPG /YPJ and the need to defend their people against ISIS

The desire to avenge a relative or a friend who had been killed

“We need people to fight, as the conflict is intense, and we signed this agreement [the Deed of Commitment] being aware of this situation. There are still exceptions [of child recruitment]; we don’t want to lie. We are trying to end these exceptions.” Redur Xelil, YPG spokesperson and commander.

Fighter from YPG/YPJ. © Geneva Call

The two representatives raise another problem: YPG/YPJ recruitment processes are not centralized. The front line with ISIS is very long: from Derek, close to the border with Iraq, to Afrin, on the west side of the country.

Therefore, each battalion commander bears the responsibility for recruiting his/her unit’s fighters. Despite the different command orders that have been sent to all units on prohibiting the use of child soldiers, it is difficult for the central command to make sure all its units respect the obligation.

The creation of a monitoring committee

As a measure to reinforce compliance with the Deed of Commitment, Redur Xelil and Nasrin Abdallah announce the creation of a monitoring committee with two main responsibilities:

Centralizing all complaints and allegations of child recruitment made by families, the media and human rights organizations. Each complaint will lead to an investigation. Regular inspections of military camps, recruitment centres and the front line in order to check the ages of combatant and non-combatant members of the YPG/YPJ.

The monitoring committee has full authority to sanction officers who do not respect the Deed and to send children back to their families or to an education centre.

They invite us to collaborate and liaise closely with this committee and to accompany it on its inspection visits. We agree to this proposal and inform them that we will reinforce our local presence in the territory they control to ensure better coordination and monitoring.

After three hours of discussions, we decide that tomorrow we will visit one of the centres taking in children who had been discharged from active military service.