UN: 27,000 children to be repatriated from ISIS camp in Syria

UN counterterrorism chief urges countries to repatriate the 27,000 children stranded in a massive camp in northeastern Syria, many of whom are the sons and daughters of Islamic State extremists who controlled once vast swathes of Iraq and Syria.

Vladimir Voronkov told an informal meeting of the UN Security Council on Friday that “the dire situation of children in Al Hol (camp) is one of the most pressing problems in the world today”.

The 27,000 children “remain stranded, left to fend for themselves,” vulnerable to attacks from ISIS agents, “and the risk of radicalization within the camp,” he said.

Al Hol, the largest camp for Syrian refugees and displaced persons in the country, is currently home to nearly 62,000 residents, according to UN aid officials. More than 80% are women and children, many of whom fled there after ISIS militants lost their last Syrian stronghold in 2019. There are other camps in the northeast as well.

Voronkov said there are children from 60 countries in the camps that are the responsibility of their member states, not Syria or the groups that control the camps. Kurdish fighters protect Al-Hol and other camps, as well as thousands of Islamic State fighters and children in prisons.

He said several countries, including Russia and Kazakhstan, which convened the virtual meeting, “have collectively repatriated nearly 1,000 children and their families.”

Voronkov said the experiences of returnees are being collected “and what we are seeing so far is that fears of security risks are unfounded”.

“ Children must be treated as victims ”

The executive director of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Center stressed that children “should be treated primarily as victims” and that children under 14 should not be detained or prosecuted.

History has shown that children are resilient and can recover from violent experiences if they are supported to reintegrate into communities, Voronkov said.

“Every effort should be made to ensure that children are not kept in institutions, but are allowed to reintegrate with their family members into their communities,” he said.

Virginia Gamba, UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, told the Security Council that children classified as associated with armed groups such as Islamic State and Al-Qaida “are children who have been drifting by conflict, like debris floating in the sea. “

He echoed Voronkov’s call for them to be treated “primarily as victims and not as security threats, and that detention be used as a measure of last resort and for the shortest possible time” .

The mental health, safety and general development of foreign children who have been detained for a long time “in dire conditions” in camps in northeast Syria and Iraq “are at stake,” Gamba said.

“They are exposed to more trauma and stigma and are at risk because of their proximity to members of designated terrorist groups,” he said.

Children have the right to a nationality and identity and must not remain stateless, Gamba stressed.

Gamba said the repatriation of foreign children should be a priority “with the best interests of the child in mind” and that they should be assisted to reintegrate and obtain education, medical care and support. employment.

“Their childhood should be returned to them in a safe environment where they can build a future away from violence,” Gamba said. “They deserve a chance in life, just like any other child.”