UN URGES COUNTRIES TO REPATRIATE 27,000 ‘IS CHILDREN’ FROM SYRIA

Sun 31 January 2021:

The United Nations counterterrorism chief urged countries to repatriate the 27,000 children stranded in a huge camp in northeastern Syria, many of them sons and daughters of ISIL (ISIS) fighters who once controlled large swathes of Iraq and Syria.

Al-Hol, the largest camp for refugees and displaced Syrians in the country, is currently home to almost 62,000 residents, according to UN humanitarian officials.

More than 80 percent are women and children, many who fled there after ISIL fighters lost their last Syrian stronghold in 2019. There are a number of other camps in the northeast as well.

Vladimir Voronkov told an informal meeting of the UN Security Council on Friday that “the horrific situation of the children in al-Hol [camp] is one of the most pressing issues in the world today”.

 

Voronkov said there are children from 60 countries in the camps who are the responsibility of their member states, not of Syria or the groups that control the camps.

Voronkov said a number of countries – including Russia and Kazakhstan that convened the virtual meeting – “have collectively repatriated nearly 1,000 children and their family members”.

The experiences of the returnees are being compiled “and what we see thus far is that fears of security risks have been unfounded”, he said.

The executive director of the UN Counter-terrorism Center stressed that children “must be treated primarily as victims” and youngsters should not be detained or prosecuted.

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