France’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that it has successfully repatriated 47 nationals from camps in north-eastern Syria, including 32 children and 15 women.
Overview
Expressing gratitude to the Kurdish-led authorities in the region, the French release said that the underage citizens are now with child assistance services, where they will undergo medical and social monitoring.
Meanwhile, France’s national counterterrorism prosecutor’s office highlighted that the repatriated women had been handed over to judicial authorities, with some having arrest warrants issued against them.
CHM @RepMcCaul: “I applaud France for repatriating it’s citizens - 15 women and 32 children - from Syria. Repatriation is an important effort in the fight against ISIS and other terror groups. Countries must ensure it’s a priority.” https://t.co/AfUlJTVgM2
— House Foreign Affairs GOP (@HouseForeignGOP) January 24, 2023
Those repatriated on Tuesday were being housed in the Roj camp 15 kilometres from the borders with Iraq and Turkey. Kurdish authorities have controlled the area since ISIS’ defeat in 2019.
Past Repatriations
Tuesday’s development is France’s third major repatriation exercise from camps in Syria. Last year, 40 children and 15 women were brought back in October, and 16 women and 35 minors returned to France in July.
Last month, French Justice Minister Éric Dupond-Moretti highlighted the need to exercise “absolute vigilance” with the children brought back, indicating they might not be loyal to France. Describing them as “lion cubs,” he said that while the “criminal choices” of their parents were not their mistake, authorities must ensure that they are not “recovered by terrorist groups.”
150 enfants français sont toujours derrière des barbelés, dans des camps de prisonniers syriens. Ils ont vu tous leurs copains rentrer chez eux, et se demandent pourquoi la France ne les a pas choisis. 2023 doit sonner le glas de leur enfer. #RapatriezLeshttps://t.co/ebb6lOtkjN
— Cabinet Marie Dosé & Judith Lévy (@DoseLevy_Avocat) January 3, 2023
France has repeatedly opposed mass repatriations, saying it would have to assess each case individually. Authorities further insist that French nationals who joined ISIS should be prosecuted in the country where they committed the crimes.
Rights groups have criticised the government for deliberately delaying the process.
The UN Committee against Torture chided France last week for violating international law by abandoning French children and mothers stuck in “war zones” despite undeniable evidence of their suffering.
Last September, the European Court of Human Rights condemned France’s decision to block the return of two French citizens who were facing safety and health threats at the Syrian camps.
Foreign Nationals in Syrian Camps
Hundreds of foreign nationals, including women and children, have been detained in camps in north-eastern Syria since the collapse of ISIS in 2019. The camps were set up to house ISIS fighters’ family members, who were brought to Syria by those who sought to join the armed group and support the self-declared “caliphate” that rose to power in 2014.
MEDIA RELEASE: France has repatriated 32 children and 15 women from North East #Syria camps. Save the Children calls on more countries to bring home their women and children stuck in unsafe camps. pic.twitter.com/rGE0C3TfJH
— Save the Children Australia News (@SaveAusNews) January 24, 2023
However, ever since ISIS was defeated in Iraq and Syria, European countries have hesitated to welcome back nationals who remain stranded in the camps, which the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces are now threatening to abandon. The camps house a large number of French citizens, and nationals from Spain, Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands as well.
Despite the scepticism, Save the Children reported in December that 1,464 children and women have been sent back to their countries of origin since 2019.
However, rights groups lament that countries are not doing enough to protect their citizens in Syria, particularly considering the reports of the violent and squalid conditions in the camps.