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NES foreign relations co-chair Abdulkarim Omar (left) shakes hands with Finnish foreign minister Pekka Haavisto. Photo via Abdulkarim Omar on Twitter
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Officials from the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of Northern and Northeastern Syria (NES) on Thursday met with Finland’s foreign minister to discuss the “persistent” threat posed by the Islamic State and fears of a deteriorating humanitarian situation in the country.
Finnish foreign minister Pekka Haavisto met with the co-chair of Foreign Relations Department of “self-proclaimed administration of North-East Syria” Abdulkarim Omar, with talks “on countering the persistent threat of #ISIS, grave humanitarian situation, current situation in #Syria”, according to a tweet from the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“We were honored to have met with the Foreign Minister of Finland Mr. Haavisto. We exchanged viewpoints regarding different issues, including the prosecution of ISIS members, and the humanitarian situation in the region,” Omar said of the meeting.
Hawar News, a media outlet close to the NES, published a full meeting readout which detailed that the NES delegation was composed of three other senior officials and an administration representative to Scandinavian countries.
“He [Haavisto] was briefed on the humanitarian conditions due to the IDPs and the residents of the region being deprived of humanitarian assistance, especially following the recent UN resolution,” the statement read.
Under Russian pressure, the UN Security Council voted earlier this month to limit aid delivery access to Syria. All aid must now travel through border crossings controlled by the Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad; the Kurdish-run Tel Kochar crossing is now closed.
Hundreds of thousands of civilians were displaced from their homes as a result of Turkey’s invasion of northern Syria in October 2019, many of whom moved eastward to seek refuge.
Kurdish-controlled northeast Syria is also heavily reliant on foreign aid for the maintenance of al-Hol camp, where spouses and children of Islamic State (ISIS) suspects are held. The camp’s estimated 70,000 residents, living in overcrowded, squalid conditions.
“Views concerning the condition of thousands of Daesh [Islamic State] members and their families in the areas of Autonomous Administration were exchanged, with a focus on the necessity of the cooperation of the international community with the Administration for putting them on trial, about conditions in the camp, and the necessity of the international community cooperating to face this big and intricate issue,” the readout of meeting between Kurdish officials and the Finnish MFA added.
Thousands of foreign nationals, many of whom came from Europe to fight for the Islamic State, are held at al-Hol. According to Finnish media, more than 30 children born to 11 Finnish women live in al-Hol (December 2019). The Finnish government has said that it wants to repatriate the children as soon as possible. The Helsinki Times reported the December 21 repatriation of two children from al-Hol.
Repatriation of citizens who joined ISIS has proven contentious across Europe. Many have cited fears to domestic security and the difficulty of obtaining evidence from an overseas battlefield for a court trial of their citizens as reasons for refusing repatriation; some countries have agreed on repatriation solely on a case by case basis.
Repatriation of a Norwegian citizen and her two children earlier this month was so controversial that a populist party quit the government coalition in response.
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