Key facts
- SOS Children's Villages International will not release a commissioned report investigating its role in separating children from families in Syria.
- The charity commissioned the report after Syrian security forces took children from imprisoned parents and placed them in SOS facilities.
- The report was delivered in December 2025, but SOS board chair Domenico Parisi stated in May that it was "compromised" and would not be shared.
- Several national associations within the SOS federation have decided to leave due to internal tensions.
- Families impacted by the detentions are still awaiting compensation, despite a "voluntary compensation" fund being set aside by the German association.
SOS Children's Villages International has stated it will not release a report it commissioned to investigate its role in separating children from their families during Syria's civil war. The charity also has yet to provide compensation to Syrian families impacted by the detentions, despite pledges. Under former President Bashar al-Assad, Syrian security forces took hundreds of children from imprisoned parents and instructed SOS and other orphanages to hide their identities and whereabouts. The BBC World Service, working with international journalists, revealed that the regime used these children to pressure families and negotiate prisoner exchanges. Sisters Layla and Layan Ghbeis were among those taken in 2015 and held for three years before being reunited with their parents. After Assad's fall in 2024, SOS acknowledged over 140 children had been taken to its facilities by security forces. The investigation report was delivered in December 2025, but SOS board chair Domenico Parisi stated in May that it was "compromised" and would not be shared publicly or internally. This decision has led to internal tensions and several national associations within the SOS federation deciding to leave.