DIn the Roj and Al-Hol camps in northeastern Syria, two hundred French children and their mothers have been arbitrarily detained for more than two years. The unworthy sanitary conditions in which these children are kept have long been informed by many observers and NGOs.
On February 8, 2021, around 20 independent human rights experts at the United Nations called for immediate action to “Prevent irreparable damage to people in vulnerable situations who are detained there” and noted that“An unknown number of people have already died because of their conditions of detention”.
Mme Fionnuala Ni Aolain, special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, said that “The existence of these camps taints the conscience of humanity”. In its report of February 17, 2021 entitled “Europe’s Guantanamo”, the NGO Rights and Security International (RSI) describes the state of children’s health as follows: “Young children with rashes, skeletal limbs and bloated bellies, rummaging through smelly piles of rubbish under the scorching sun or lying on the floor of a tent, their bodies covered in dust and flies. Children die from acute diarrhea and influenza-like infections. “
These children are innocent: they did not choose to go to Syria, to be born in a war zone or in these camps. They are victims, whom France abandons by making them pay for their parents’ choice: letting these children perish in these camps is unworthy of our rule of law and contrary to our international commitments.
Terrorism of tomorrow
For more than two years, the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (Aanes), unable to secure these camps, has called on foreign states – and particularly in Europe – to repatriate all of these children and their mothers. . In a press release dated March 18, 2021, the Rojava authorities again affirmed that they could not try the mothers of these children, that they had no evidence against them and that they should be repatriated with their children. , as quickly as possible, contrary to the wish of certain States which would like to separate them. The best interests of the children concerned are indeed not to be separated from their mothers in Syria, under conditions which further aggravate their trauma, and to return to France knowing that they are alone in the tent where they suffered with them. .
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