The decision to relax criteria for repatriation was made by Belgium's National Security Council on Thursday, foreign ministry spokesperson Marie Cherchari told Rudaw English.
"The change in policy is based on the reality on the ground. The security situation has deteriorated," Cherchari said.
Belgium's previous policy on the repatriation of ISIS-linked detainees from the camps was to bring home children under the age of 10 if their mother consented, she said, while children aged between 10 and 18 were repatriated only on a case-by-case basis. Adults were not to be repatriated at all. The policy was strict because "people travelled to a conflict zone and breached travel guidelines – they went by their own will," Cherchari said.
But after the National Security Council decision, Belgium will "actively repatriate" children under the age of 12, the spokesperson said, with children aged between 12 and 18 as well as mothers to be brought back on a case-by-case basis, she said.
Human rights organisations, Kurdish-led authorities who run the camps, and the United States have all urged countries to take back their citizens. Children must be reintegrated into society and adults tried for their suspected crimes, UNICEF said earlier this week. However, most nations are reluctant to repatriate their citizens, citing security concerns.
Conditions at al-Hol camp, with a population of 61,000, were notorious before a spike in murders at the camp in recent months. Since January, more than 30 people have been killed at al-Hol, according to Doctors Without Borders.
A member of Doctors Without Borders staff was killed and three others injured on February 27, the medical aid organisation said on Tuesday, denouncing the camp's "unsafe conditions" in a statement and urging "the international community and countries with citizens in al-Hol camp to take responsibility to find longer-term solutions for people living there".
On February 24, a blaze ripped through the camp, killing four people and injuring 11.
The Belgian foreign ministry estimated in December 2020 that 73 of its citizens were at the camps, Cherchari said – 14 men, 21 women, and 38 children. Thirteen of the women will be eligible for repatriation, Cherchari explained. Nine of the women have been sentenced by Belgian courts, and four are subject to international arrest warrants.
