ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Children of foreign fighters who traveled to Iraq and Syria to join the Islamic State group (ISIS) must have their rights protected and be repatriated to their country of origin as soon as possible, UNICEF said Tuesday. According to the United Nations Children’s Fund, there are close to 29,000 foreign children in Syria alone – most of them under the age of 12. Some 20,000 of these are from neighboring Iraq – but more than 9,000 are from around 60 other countries. A further 1,000 are thought to be in Iraq. Found languishing in camps, detention centers and orphanages across Iraq and Syria, they are “among the world’s most vulnerable children,” UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore said in a statement. “They live in appalling conditions amid constant threats to their health, safety and well-being. They have little family support: While most are stranded with their mothers or other caregivers, many are completely alone,” she said. “These children are ‘doubly rejected’ – stigmatized by their communities and shunned by their governments. They face massive legal, logistical and political challenges in accessing basic services or returning to their countries of origin.” Many of the children were born in areas controlled by ISIS, or were brought there by their parents after the group seized swathes of territory across Iraq and Syria in the summer of 2014. Thousands of women and children poured out of the jihadists’ last holdout on Baghouz, eastern Syria in March this year as the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) liberated the last of the so-called caliphate. The majority were transferred to the vastly overcrowded camp of al-Hol in Syria’s Kurdish-controlled Hasaka province. Living under the ISIS caliphate, boys were particularly vulnerable to recruitment by armed groups. However, the UNICEF chief said under-18s must have their rights respected in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child. “These children must be treated primarily as victims, not perpetrators,” said Fore. “Every decision regarding them, including on repatriation, must take into consideration the best interest of each child and be in full compliance with international legal standards.” “Detention should only be a measure of last resort and international standards of juvenile justice must apply,” she added. Western countries, including the United States, have been reluctant to take back their nationals captured on the battlefield, fearing they will not find enough evidence to prosecute them. Releasing them into the community could pose a security threat, they argue. This view has extended even to the fighters’ children. The United Kingdom recently refused to take back jihadi bride Shamima Begum and her newborn son, instead revoking her citizenship. Her baby died in a Syrian refugee camp days later. Other countries including France have explored options for repatriating children while leaving parents to face justice in Iraq. “So far, only a fraction of children has been repatriated,” said Fore. UNICEF called on UN member states to give these children civil documentation and prevent them from becoming stateless. It also asked them to provide the children with “safe, dignified and voluntary return” to their country of origin and support their reintegration. For children over the age of criminal responsibility accused of criminal acts, UNICEF said member states must guarantee trials and juvenile justice meet internationally recognized standards. There are fears Iraq’s judicial system is not delivering fair trials. Rights groups including Human Rights Watch have criticized these trials, which they say often rely on circumstantial evidence or confessions obtained under torture. Human Rights Watch published a 52-page report in March estimating Iraqi and Kurdish authorities are holding 1,500 children suspected of ties with ISIS. Based on interviews with 29 current and former child detainees, relatives, prison guards, and judicial sources, the report said several of the children had been tortured by security forces, including beatings and electric shocks.
