NORDIC JOURNAL OF HUMAN RIGHTS 143 and despite the European Parliament urging EU Member States to repatriate all European children.13 Domestic jurisprudence shows a fragmented picture with courts assuming states’ responsibilities and courts concluding that these children fall outside of states’ jurisdictions.14 This article asks to what extent the children with ties to the jurisdiction of the Netherlands in camps in Syria, Turkey and Iraq, fall within the jurisdiction of the Netherlands pursuant to Article 2(1) of the UNCRC and, accordingly, whether the Dutch Government is discharged from the relevant obligations that flow from this convention to protect these children. It first explains who these children are. How many children are involved, and how homogeneous are they as a group? A brief explanation is given of the circumstances they are living in. The extent to which this group of children has Dutch citizenship is also considered; an important factor when it comes to their legal position (section 2). The sections thereafter analyse to what extent the UNCRC applies extraterritorially in this context and how jurisdiction pursuant to Article 2(1) UNCRC should be understood. In addition, it addresses the relevant substantive rights of the UNCRC should the children with ties to the Netherlands be considered to fall within Dutch jurisdiction (sections 3 and 4). Before closing with some concluding observations (section 6), the article briefly refers to recent developments in Dutch case law: a group of mothers and children with ties to the Netherlands, residing in camps in Northern Syria, initiated legal proceedings to challenge the principally passive policy of the Dutch Government with respect to their repatriation. This case was pending before the Netherlands Supreme Court at the time of writing, after the District Court and Court of Appeal delivered judgments with conflicting outcomes.15 This article sheds light on the obligations of the Netherlands Government, but it also aims to inform other jurisdictions about how to approach the protection of children from former ISIS-held territories whose rights and interests are under threat.16 Although the position of children in Syria, Turkey and Iraq also prompts questions in relation to youth protection law, juvenile criminal law and migration law, these questions will not be dealt with here. These, and other questions, deserve further attention. This article takes the perspective of children’s rights17 to clarify the position of the children and government responsibility towards them. By suggesting a reconsideration of 13 European Parliament Resolution of 26 November 2019 on Children’s Rights on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (2019/2876(RSP)), <www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-9-20190066_EN.html> accessed 14 May 2020. 14 See e.g. the Higher Administrative Court of Berlin and Brandenburg (Germany), ECLI:DE:OVGBEBB:2019:1106.OVG10S43.19.00 (6 November 2019), ordering the German State to repatriate a mother and her children; District Court of Brussels (Belgium), 2019/90/C Anonymised (11 December 2019) <www.rechtbanken-tribunaux.be/ sites/default/files/nieuwsartikels/IS111219.pdf> accessed 27 May 2020 ordering measures to facilitate the return of a group of children from Syria and the French Council of State, No 429668, 429669, 429674, 429701 (23 April 2019) <www.conseil-etat.fr/ressources/decisions-contentieuses/dernieres-decisions-importantes/rejet-des-demandes-derapatriement-de-ressortissantes-francaises-et-de-leurs-enfants-retenus-en-syrie> accessed 27 May 2020 rejecting claims for repatriation arguing that the matter was one of French diplomacy and therefore outside of its jurisdiction. See section 4 for Dutch jurisprudence on the matter. 15 Days before the final version of this article was sent in, the Netherlands Supreme Court delivered its ruling: see section 5. 16 According to Save the Children, 9,500 children from different countries are living in camp Al-Hol alone, of which almost half have not reached the age of five: Isabel Coles, ‘Almost 10,000 Children of Islamic State Live in Perilous Limbo in Syrian Camps’ Wall Street Journal (New York, 30 December 2019). 17 Taking this perspective, the UNCRC is first examined. Some of the relevant provisions and issues are also supported in other human rights conventions or elaborated on in human rights case law. Where necessary, these other instruments will be referred to as well.