By Esra Taskin
PARIS (AA) – Amelie Morineau, chair of the Liberties and Human Rights Commission of France's National Bar Council (CNB), has called for the repatriation of French children currently held in camps under the control of the terrorist group PYD/PKK in northeastern Syria.
According to data from France's Interior Ministry, more than 650 French nationals, including 250 women, traveled to Syria and Iraq to join terrorist organizations al-Nusra Front and Daesh (ISIS) in 2016.
On May 17, 2024, the CNB released a report addressing the situation of French children in Syrian camps.
The report highlighted that after Daesh’s defeat in Syria, men who joined the group were imprisoned, while women and children were sent to the open-air detention facilities of Al-Hol and Roj camps under PYD/PKK control.
While the majority of French women and children are now in the Roj camp, CNB highlighted the extremely inhumane conditions in the camp, which are unsuitable for children.
The French government last repatriated 10 adult women and 25 children from Syria on July 4, 2023.
It is estimated that between 50 and 150 French children remain in these camps.
CNB has called for legal mechanisms to ensure the repatriation of children to France without requiring their mothers’ consent, although they oppose separating children from their mothers.
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, the UN Committee Against Torture, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), Amnesty International, and CNB have all appealed to the French government to repatriate these children.
On Jan. 10, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan commented on the detention of French Daesh members in Syria.
"If there is something France should do, it is to take back those whom its constitution defines as citizens, remove them from prisons, bring them to their country, incarcerate them in their own prisons, and try them in their courts," Fidan said.
- France hesitant to repatriate ‘Daesh members’
Christophe Lemoine, spokesman for the French Foreign Ministry, said during a Jan. 16 press briefing that French nationals detained in northeastern Syria had voluntarily traveled to join Daesh.
"We believe they should be tried in the closest location to where the crimes were committed. This has always been our consistent principle. Justice must be served, and it must be served where the incidents took place," Lemoine said.
- Families advocate for repatriation of French children
The "United Families Community," a group formed by families of French nationals in Syria, released a statement on January 20 on X.
"120 French children who are guilty of nothing remain in degrading conditions in the Roj camp-prison in Syria, in violation of international law and the (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child," it said.
The group called on French authorities to repatriate these children.
- 'Decision to join terrorist organization was not children's choice'
Morineau explained to Anadolu that the commission addresses matters related to criminal law, deprivation of liberty, foreign nationals’ rights, and children’s welfare.
"We believe that French children held in camps in northeastern Syria should be repatriated to France. The conditions in which they are held in these areas are incompatible with human dignity," she said.
She referred to the ECHR's 2022 ruling, which found that conditions in these camps, particularly concerning children’s protection and best interests, violated international humanitarian law.
"The current conditions of their detention can be considered a violation of the fundamental rights of children who are guilty of no crime," she stressed.
Morineau emphasized that children did not choose to be born in conflict zones or to parents who joined terrorist organizations.
She noted that while France has repatriated French orphans and children whose mothers signed consent forms, she could not explain why authorities have not repatriated all children.
"This is a political question to be addressed to the government," she said.
"French law actually allows for the prosecution of crimes committed abroad in France, provided the crimes can be proven. To date, all French nationals who traveled to conflict zones to join a terrorist organization have been convicted by French courts and imprisoned when it was proven they sought to join such groups," Morineau said regarding the prosecution of French nationals in Syria.
She stressed that while states have the right to prosecute crimes committed within their borders, fair trial rights must be upheld to ensure justice is served.
Morineau criticized France for tolerating the dire conditions in which these children are held in foreign territories.
She pointed out that as French authorities delay action, these children grow older.
"France cannot claim to be the country of the Declaration of the Human Rights while being satisfied with trials conducted in other countries that do not adhere to the principle of fair trial," she said.