France has violated the rights of French children detained in Syria by failing to repatriate them, a UN committee said Thursday, February 24, after examining requests concerning 49 French children.
"France's refusal to repatriate French children detained in Syrian camps in life-threatening conditions for years violates their right to life, as well as their right not to be subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment", a said the Committee on the Rights of the Child, in a statement.
>> To see: Our focus: "In Syria, with the children of jihadists who are waiting to be repatriated to France"
He considered that "France has the responsibility and the power to protect French children in Syrian camps against an imminent risk to their lives by taking measures to repatriate them".
This Committee is made up of 18 independent experts responsible for monitoring the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by its States Parties.
He published his findings regarding France after examining three petitions filed by a group of French nationals whose grandchildren, nieces and nephews are currently detained in the Roj, Aïn Issa and Al-Hol camps, which are under the control of Kurdish forces.
38 children still detained in war zone
The three cases concern 49 French children, whose parents allegedly collaborated with the Islamic State (or Daesh) group.
Some were born in Syria, while others traveled there with their French parents at a very young age.
Since the relatives brought their case to the Committee in 2019, the French government has repatriated 11 of these children.
The other 38 child victims, some as young as five years old, are still being held in closed camps in war zones.
The UN Committee considered that "France has the responsibility and the power to protect French children in Syrian camps against an imminent risk to their lives, by taking measures to repatriate them".
He further considered that the prolonged detention of child victims in life-threatening conditions also amounts to "inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment".
The experts also concluded that France had failed to demonstrate "that it had properly considered the best interests of child victims when assessing requests for repatriation of their loved ones."
In conclusion, the Committee urges France to take urgent measures to repatriate the remaining 38 child victims.
In the meantime, he asks the French authorities "to take additional measures to mitigate the risks to the life, survival and development of child victims during their stay in northeastern Syria".
With AFP
The summary of the
France 24 week invites you to come back to the news that marked the week
I subscribe
Take international news everywhere with you!
Download the France 24 app
google-play-badge_FR