Repatriation of ‘foreign terrorist fighters’ and their families urgently needed to safeguard human rights and security, OSCE human rights head says
The situation of family members of ‘foreign terrorist fighters’ (FTFs) trapped in camps or detention in Syria and Iraq raise profound human rights and security concerns, the head of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) said ahead of an event on 12 February in Vienna highlighting the need to repatriate both FTFs and their families.
“Ignoring the dire circumstances of those who remain in camps or detention is not only a denial of their human rights, but also increases future security risks by providing fertile ground for later recruitment by terrorist or criminal organizations,” said ODIHR Director Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir. “I call for the urgent repatriation of all foreign citizens and in particular children, who are in need of special protection.”
Following several years of intense public debate over the return of FTFs, ODIHR’s event reminds countries of their obligation to take all the steps necessary to protect their nationals from serious human rights violations abroad. At the same time it points out that their return is essential to ensure that perpetrators of terrorist crimes are brought to justice in line with international standards. The discussion takes place today in Vienna on the margins of the Joint Regional High-level Conference on “Foreign Terrorist Fighters – Addressing Current Challenges convened by the OSCE, the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism, and Switzerland, in cooperation with Albania’s OSCE Chairmanship.
There are still a large number of foreign citizens among the estimated 100,000 people being held in poor conditions in the camps and detention facilities across Syria and Iraq, the majority of whom are women and small children. In the three biggest camps in the north-east of Syria alone there are currently some 4,000 women and 8,000 children of foreign nationality.
ODIHR has published guidelines to help national authorities address the threats and challenges of FTFs within a human rights framework. These emphasize the need to ensure that nobody is made stateless and that especially children and women are able to return to the country of their nationality or with which they have meaningful links, where they should then be provided with the protection and support indispensable for their reintegration and recovery.