Canadian parliament calls on government to repatriate citizens from northeast Syria
Few Canadians have been brought home from camps for Islamic State families in northeast Syria, and many remain there.
A Canadian parliament committee has recommended the government repatriate Canadians from Islamic State (IS) camps in northeast Syria.
The Canadian House of Commons’ Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs released a report on June 9 about children’s rights during the COVID-19 pandemic. The committee noted there are 45 Canadian citizens being held in al-Hol and Roj camps in northeast Syria, where the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) keeps IS-affiliated detainees. The group of Canadians consists of eight men, 13 women and 24 children, most of whom are under the age of 6.
The committee issued several recommendations regarding the detained Canadians, including that “the Government of Canada pursue all options possible to repatriate the Canadian children detained in al-Hol and Roj camps in northeast Syria.” They also recommended that “the Government of Canada make every effort to provide consular services to all Canadians detained in northeast Syria” and that Ottawa should use diplomacy to “advocate for unhindered humanitarian access in all situations where children are affected by armed conflict and displacement, including in Syria,” according to the report.
The committee cited the well-documented poor and dangerous living conditions in the camps.
