Council of Europe (CoE) Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović called on the 47 CoE member states on Tuesday 28 May to urgently repatriate their underage nationals stranded in al-Hawl camp (northern Syria).
The camp is home to 73,000 former members of the Islamic State organisation, more than 90% are women and children. 11,000 of them are reported to be foreigners, including 7,000 children.
“I urge Council of Europe member states to take all necessary measures to urgently repatriate their underage nationals living in the al-Hawl camp”, she said in a statement. Member States are divided on the repatriation of their nationals.
“One of the primary obligations of Council of Europe member states is to take all possible measures to ensure that children affected by armed conflict receive protection and care”, the Commissioner for Human Rights recalled, arguing that such children should be “treated first and foremost as victims”. It also requested that they be provided with medical, psychological and social assistance, if necessary, upon their return to their country.
According to the Commissioner, Member States should also consider repatriating “the mothers of these children, in accordance with the principle of the best interests of the child, enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child”. “This does not prevent States from bringing these women to justice, where appropriate, in accordance with their legislation and applicable international and European standards”, she noted.
Ms Mijatović deplored the “squalid and dangerous” living conditions in the camp, adding that medical care was practically non-existent.
“With rising temperatures, living conditions are likely to deteriorate further”, she warned, adding that “this deplorable situation was putting children at risk of death”.
According to the CoE, in 1 month, 249 people died – twice as many as the previous month (120, 80% of them children under 5 years of age) – with most deaths due to malnutrition, infected wounds, severe burns or acute diarrhoea. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)