International

UN rights chief urges countries to let IS fighters' families return

UN rights chief urges countries to let IS fighters' families return

June 24, 2019 | 06:46 PM
,The primary consideration must be their rehabilitation, protection and best interests,, Michelle Bachelet said
The wives and children of foreign Islamic Statefighters should be taken back by their countries of origin, UN rightschief Michelle Bachelet demanded on Monday. "Foreign family members should be repatriated, unless they are to beprosecuted for crimes in accordance with international standards,"she said in her opening speech at the UN Human Rights Council, whichstarted its annual summer session in Geneva.The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) estimates that there are 29,000children of foreign fighters in Syria, of which 20,000 are from Iraq.In total, more than 55,000 suspected Islamic State extremists andtheir families have been detained in Syria and Iraq. Most of them arecitizens of these two countries. The children have suffered serious rights violations, including somewho were indoctrinated with extremist ideology and were forced tocommit violence, UN High Commissioner Bachelet said."The primary consideration must be their rehabilitation, protectionand best interests," she said.In recent weeks, children were returned to Australia, Belgium,France, the Netherlands, the United States and Turkey, but Bacheletsaid that the problem is not given adequate attention by manygovernments. Britain is still debating how to handle the issue of children afterseveral government ministers insisted in recent months that they donot want to take back any Islamic State fighters.Defence Minister Penny Mordaunt said earlier this month that Britainshould take back the children, but she added that "extracting themwould be a very difficult thing to do," as it would require theirparents' consent.German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer has said that he must proceedwith great caution regarding returning foreign fighters and theirfamilies. "First of all, I need reliable information on whether they are reallyGermans," he said in May. Although Nordic countries have taken back children, the process hasbeen slow as governments have also cited security concerns, as wellas the difficulty of clarifying identities.Bachelet also warned countries against revoking the citizenship ofpeople who went to fight for Islamic State in Syria or Iraq."Rendering people stateless is never an acceptable option," she said,adding that children suffer especially from such measures, because itcreates problems with schooling and with getting health care.Bachelet did not advocate the repatriation of fighters, but demandedthat they get fair trials. Flawed judicial procedures, inhumanedetention and death sentences would only breed revenge, she warned.The Human Rights Council meets until July 12 to discuss issues suchas the ongoing crisis in Venezuela and violence in Sudan.The murder of Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi is scheduledto be discussed on Wednesday.The council meets three times a year and deals with current crises aswell as broader issues such as women's rights or freedom ofexpression.Last year, the US resigned from the council on the grounds that therewere too many human rights violators at the table.The 47 member countries are elected by the UN General Assembly for athree-year term. The council currently includes China, Cuba and SaudiArabia.
June 24, 2019 | 06:46 PM