All children in NE Syria camps must be repatriated, reintegrated into society: UNICEF

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — UNICEF has called for all children in camps in northeast Syria to be repatriated and reintegrated into society, as alarm grows over the increasingly unstable conditions in al-Hol camp.

Al-Hol is known to house thousands of foreign children born to families with suspected links to the Islamic State (ISIS). 

The detention of children is a “last resort,” Ted Chaiban, the Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa said on Sunday.  

“Local authorities in the northeast of Syria and member states should do everything possible to bring children – currently in the northeast of Syria – back home through integrating Syrian children in their local communities and the repatriation of foreign children back to their countries of origin in a safe and dignified way,” he added.

“Children should not be detained based solely on suspected family ties with armed groups or the membership of family members in armed groups.”

The statement follows the death of two children in a fire at the camp on Saturday.

According to the organization, at least 22,000 foreign children of at least 60 nationalities are held in camps and prisons across northeast Syria, known to Kurds as Rojava. 

In January, the UN counterterrorism chief urged countries to repatriate children in the camp, saying the “horrific situation” faced by the minors is one of the world's “most pressing issues.”

Relatives of women and children in al-Hol have previously told Rudaw English of the battle to repatriate their loved ones.

A delegation of French lawyers and parliamentarians is currently in the Kurdistan Region to visit the camps in neighbouring Syria, after several French relatives began a hunger strike protesting the governments inaction.

Humanitarian organisations have repeatedly warned of dire conditions in the camp. 

Safety is also of major concern, with a number Iraqi residents murdered in recent months.

Security forces (Asayish) on Monday found the body of an Iraqi refugee shot to death in the camp, reported the North Press Agency (NPA).