European States’ Obligations to Repatriate the Children Detained in Camps in Northeast Syria There have been some exceptions to these policies. Some European States have repatriated very young children, those with particularly acute medical needs, and orphans or otherwise unaccompanied children—who had confirmed nationality.81 In doing so, most European States have adopted an ad hoc and case-by-case approach, based on unclear and non-transparent criteria. This has created an ambiguous dichotomy of children who somehow “deserve” to be repatriated and those who do not and further prolongs the process of their repatriation. Notably, European States have overwhelmingly refused to repatriate the children together with their primary caregivers.82 In justifying their stance, many European States invoke logistical difficulties and national security arguments. States have highlighted the security risks involved in sending officials to the camps to repatriate the children, the complexity of establishing the nationality of children,83 and the political sensitivities surrounding their engagement with SDF, a non-state actor, and its treatment as a de facto sovereign. 84 Yet, it clearly is possible to identify 81 82 83 84 17 For illustrative purposes, The UK confirmed it would consider only orphans and unaccompanied minors for repatriation, on a case-by-case basis, see: DW, “UK to Repatriate British Orphans of 'Islamic State' Fighters”, 21 November 2019. France seems to have no confirmed policy but announced in early 2019 that it would seek to repatriate orphans and unaccompanied minors (but not their mothers) and has confirmed all repatriation decisions will be on a case by case basis, see: Rights Watch UK, “European Women and Children in Syria – Factual and Legal Briefing”, 7 November 2019, footnote 11. Throughout March 2019-April 2020, France returned 28 children, most of whom were orphans, see: France 24, “France Repatriates 10 Children from Syria, Foreign Ministry Says,” 22 June 2020. See also: Thomas Van Poecke, Evelien Wauters, “The Repatriation of European Nationals from Syria as Contested Before Domestic Courts in Belgium and Beyond,” Working Paper No. 229, KU Leuven, January 2021, pp. 4243. In Belgium, “[the] federal government decided in December 2017 that the children of Belgian nationals who travelled to Syria aged below ten have the right to return to Belgium. For older children, the situation had to be assessed on a case by case basis. While the Belgian government is in principle unwilling to repatriate adults, the Kurdish authorities do not let children leave without their parents,” see: Thomas Van Poecke, Evelien Wauters, “The Repatriation of European Nationals from Syria as Contested Before Domestic Courts in Belgium and Beyond,” 2021, pp. 4-5. See also: The Telegraph, “Belgium Pledges to Repatriate Children of Isil From Syrian Camps,” 14 February 2020. Later in 2021, the Belgian authorities announced that they would repatriate Belgian children who are 12 years old or younger and some women in the camps on a case-by-case basis. See: Al-Monitor, “Belgian Children and Some Women To Be Repatriated from IS Camp in Syria,” 4 March 2021. See: Emma Broches, “What Is Happening With the Foreign Women and Children in SDF Custody in Syria?,” Lawfare, 24 March 2020; Le Point, “Syrie: La Belgique pour un Retour Groupé d’Enfants de Jihadistes”, 14 February 2020. Some notable exceptions include Italy, see: US Department of State, “U.S. Commends Italy for Repatriating Its Citizens from Syria,” 1 October 2020. See: Letta Tayler, “Western Europe Must Repatriate Its ISIS Fighters and Families”, Al Jazeera, 21 June 2019. Such justifications are problematic. See Section II.D of this report and the “Citizenship” section of OSJI’s website which links to numerous reports and litigation cases that have pressed for safeguards that prevent governments from shirking responsibilities based on their own inability or refusal to identify nationals and stateless children. ICG, “Women and Children First: Repatriating the Westerners Affiliated with ISIS”, 2019, p. 13.