Amnesty calls on newly re-elected French president Macron to repatriate kids from Syria camps
Amnesty calls on newly re-elected French president Macron to repatriate kids from Syria camps
Amnesty said human rights must 'once again' become a priority and gave the president a bullet-point list of demands that includes the repatriation of children from Syria.
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Around 40,000 children from 60 different countries live in dire conditions in the camps of Roj and Al Hol in northeastern Syria [DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty]
Amnesty International called on newly re-elected French president Emmanuel Macron to fulfill his campaign promise to bring homeÌýÌýstrandedÌýin dire conditions in .Ìý
"We request that the 200 French children detained in Syria in spite of allÌýrules of law,Ìýbe without delay," the human rights watchdog said in a released on Sunday night, immediately after Macron's victory was announced.Ìý
Located in northeastern Syria's Hasakeh province, theÌýÌýand Roj camps are home to about 60,000 people from dozens of countries. ManyÌýof them are women and children related to alleged Islamic State group fighters.
Human rights groups and the Kurdish-led authorities in northeast Syria haveÌýlong urgedÌýcountries to take back theirÌýcitizens. But many Western countries, France included, - citing security concerns overÌýbringing suspectedÌýcurrent or formerÌýIS supporters home.
So far, France has only repatriated 35 children from the camps in northeast Syria, on a "case by case" basis. It has also allegedly pressured Kurdish authorities to deny access to the camp to French families trying to visit their detained relatives.Ìý
is rampant in these camps, due to dire living conditions. More than 60 children died in the Al-Hol camp in 2021 alone, according to the NGO Save the Children. An estimated 16 percentÌýof children in the camp are severely malnourished.
In its Sunday statement, Amnesty also called on the French stateÌýto improve its treatmentÌýof asylum seekers and toÌýstop all arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, "countries which are taking part in a coalition allegedly responsible for war crimes in Yemen".
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