Human Rights Chief Bachelet: Islamic State Captives 'Must be Tried or Freed' – BBC News

The UN says tens of thousands of Islamic State fighters and family members being held in Iraq and Syria must be tried or released.

Human rights chief Michelle Bachelet also called on countries to take responsibility for their citizens and take them back if not charged.

The last IS strongholds fell in March and some 55,000 people are being held, including thousands of foreigners.

But many nations have shown reluctance to bring their citizens back.

The countries fear prosecutions of IS fighters may be difficult and public opinion is often strongly against repatriation… </s> Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Al-Hol camp in north-eastern Syria is home to thousands of IS family members

The UN says tens of thousands of Islamic State fighters and family members being held in Iraq and Syria must be tried or released.

Human rights chief Michelle Bachelet also called on countries to take responsibility for their citizens and take them back if not charged.

The last IS strongholds fell in March and some 55,000 people are being held, including thousands of foreigners.

But many nations have shown reluctance to bring their citizens back.

The countries fear prosecutions of IS fighters may be difficult and public opinion is often strongly against repatriation.

Some countries have also refused to recognise the children of IS members born in Syria and Iraq as citizens, despite their parents having nationality.

Ms Bachelet said that children in particular had suffered "grievous violations" of their human rights.

What has Ms Bachelet said?

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said there should be no doubt about what must happen to those being detained.

"Accountability through fair trials protects societies from future radicalisation and violence," she said, adding that continuing to detain individuals not suspected of crimes was not acceptable.

She added: "Foreign family members should be repatriated, unless they are to be prosecuted for crimes in accordance with international standards."

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The BBC speaks to two British militants who were members of the so-called "IS Beatles"

Ms Bachelet highlighted in particular the plight of children born to IS fighters, reported to number about 29,000.

"States should provide the same access to nationality for children born to their nationals in conflict zones as is otherwise applicable.

"To inflict statelessness on children who have already suffered so much is an act of irresponsible cruelty," she said.

Who are the captives and where are they being held?

A vast number are at al-Hol camp in north-eastern Syria, which has seen a huge increase since the collapse of the last IS strongholds in Syria.

About 1,000 foreign IS fighters were captured by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces but several hundred have already been transferred to Iraq for trial. Those remaining are mostly family members.

The UN says there are about 29,000 children of foreign IS fighters in Syria, 20,000 of them from Iraq, but overall there are about 50 nationalities.

France, Russia, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and the Netherlands have taken back some children. Australia also confirmed it had evacuated six children from a "bleak and complicated'' situation at a Syrian refugee camp.

But many nations have shown unwillingness to allow repatriation.

Researchers estimate that more than 40,000 foreigners from 80 countries joined IS in Iraq and Syria between April 2013 and June 2018.

Iraq has offered to try all foreign fighters captured in Syria. Several Frenchmen are among those so far sentenced to death since being transferred.

What is al-Hol like?

Ms Bachelet said conditions there were "deeply substandard".

The camp has seen an increase from 11,000 people to more than 70,000 following the collapse of the last IS bastion at Baghouz.

The BBC's Quentin Sommerville visited in April and said it appeared "ready to burst".

Image caption A child in al-Hol. The fate of many is uncertain

He said hundreds of children brought from Baghouz had died and the rest were at risk from sickness and disease.

Iraq was preparing camps on the other side of the border to take back its citizens but the fate of other women and children remained unanswered, he reported. </s> GENEVA (Reuters) - U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said on Monday that 55,000 former Islamic State fighters, including foreigners, and their families detained in Syria and Iraq should face fair prosecution or be freed.

States “must assume responsibility for their nationals” and should not inflict statelessness on fighters’ children who have already suffered so much, Bachelet told the U.N. Human Rights Council as it opened a three-week session in Geneva. </s> GENEVA (Reuters) - U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said on Monday that 55,000 captured Islamic State fighters, including foreigners, and their families detained in Syria and Iraq should face fair prosecution or be freed.

States “must assume responsibility for their nationals” and should not inflict statelessness on fighters’ children who have already suffered so much, Bachelet also told the U.N. Human Rights Council as it opened a three-week session in Geneva.

The 55,000 include alleged foreign fighters from nearly 50 countries and 11,000 family members held at the al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria “in deeply sub-standard conditions”, she said.

Authorities in northeast Syria have been urging Western countries to take back citizens who joined Islamic State and their relatives after the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) captured the group’s last enclave this year.

“Foreign family members should be repatriated unless they are to be prosecuted for crimes in accordance with international standards. Children, in particular, have suffered grievous violations of their rights - including those who may have been indoctrinated or recruited by ISIL to perpetrate violent acts,” Bachelet said. </s> (Hatha al-Youm | Iraq News )-UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said on Monday that 55,000 former ISIS fighters, including foreigners, and their families detained in Syria and Iraq should face fair prosecution or be freed.States “must assume responsibility for their nationals” and should not inflict statelessness on fighters’ children who have already suffered so much, Bachelet told the UN Human Rights Council as it opened a three-week session in Geneva. </s> GENEVA — U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said on Monday that 55,000 captured Islamic State fighters, including foreigners, and their families detained in Syria and Iraq should face fair trials or be freed.

States “must assume responsibility for their nationals” and should not inflict statelessness on fighters’ children who have already suffered so much, Bachelet also told the U.N. Human Rights Council as it opened a three-week session in Geneva.

The 55,000 include suspected foreign fighters from nearly 50 countries and 11,000 family members held at the al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria “in deeply sub-standard conditions,” she said.

“Accountability through fair trials protects societies from future radicalisation and violence,” Bachelet said. “And the continuing detention of individuals not suspected of crimes, in the absence of (a) lawful basis and regular independent judicial review, is not acceptable,” Bachelet said.

Authorities in northeast Syria have been urging Western countries to take back citizens who joined Islamic State and their relatives after the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) captured the group’s last enclave this year.

“Foreign family members should be repatriated unless they are to be prosecuted for crimes in accordance with international standards. Children, in particular, have suffered grievous violations of their rights – including those who may have been indoctrinated or recruited by ISIL to perpetrate violent acts,” Bachelet said.

Few countries have seemed willing to take back their citizens, who may be hard to prosecute, and the issue has led to fierce debate in their home countries where there is little public sympathy for the families of jihadists.

The United States, France and the Netherlands have each repatriated a small number of women or children from northeast Syria, but many others remain there.

Some children born during the conflict have been left stateless.

“To inflict statelessness on children who have already suffered so much is an act of irresponsible cruelty’,” Bachelet said. “I urge all states to assume responsibility for their nationals, and to work together to provide resources to help the relevant authorities and actors in Syria and Iraq to address urgent humanitarian needs,” she said. </s> Thousands of relatives of suspected foreign ISIL/Da'esh terrorist fighters should be repatriated, the U.N. human rights chief said Monday, adding that children in particular have suffered "grievous violations" of their rights

UNITED NATIONS, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - APP - 24th Jun, 2019 ) :Thousands of relatives of suspected foreign ISIL/Da'esh terrorist fighters should be repatriated, the U.N. human rights chief said Monday, adding that children in particular have suffered "grievous violations" of their rights.

"Foreign family members should be repatriated, unless they are to be prosecuted for crimes in accordance with international standards," Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in her opening speech at the UN Human Rights Council, which started its annual summer session in Geneva.

She said more than 55,000 suspected ISIL fighters and their families have been detained in Iraq and Syria.

Bachelet warned countries against revoking the citizenship of people who went to fight for ISIL in Syria or Iraq.

"Rendering people stateless is never an acceptable option," she said, adding that some countries have made efforts to repatriate some nationals.

Many European countries have been reluctant to take back their nationals.

"While the majority of these individuals are Syrian or Iraqi, they also include alleged foreign fighters from nearly 50 countries," Ms. Bachelet said, noting that at least 11,000 suspected family members of foreign ISIL fighters are still being held at Al Hol camp in north-eastern Syria, "in deeply sub-standard conditions".

Citing estimates by UN Children's Fund, UNICEF, that there are 29,000 children of foreign fighters in Syria, the High Commissioner added that two-thirds of them originally came from Iraq and most were not even 12 years old.

Thousands more children have been born to foreign families during the years of conflict, she noted, before appealing to States to give them nationality, or else risk fuelling a "narrative of grievance and revenge".

In Iraq, "well over" 150 men and women have been sentenced to death under anti-terror laws after trials where due process guarantees were not provided, Ms. Bachelet stressed, before insisting that States of origin "should make all efforts to ensure that they will be treated in accordance with international law".

"Children, in particular, have suffered grievous violations of their rights � including those who may have been indoctrinated or recruited by ISIL to perpetrate violent acts," Ms. Bachelet insisted, before the 47-Member Council.

"The Primary consideration must be their rehabilitation, protection and best interests." According to a report published by the Office of the High Commissioner last year for the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force, more than 40,000 people from 110 countries are estimated to have joined ISIL by October 2017, while at least 5,600 had also returned home.

Highlighting that family members were being detained "although they are not being held for prosecution", Bachelet said that many also risked "revenge attacks" and were "unwanted" by their former communities.

Despite the complex challenges involved in repatriating these families amid concerns that they pose a potential terror risk, stripping them of their nationality so that they can never return home "is never an acceptable option", she maintained.

Moreover, doing the same to children "who have already suffered so much is an act of irresponsible cruelty", the High Commissioner insisted, adding that stateless children often get no education, health care access "or other basic elements of dignity".

To date, "a few" countries have attempted to repatriate some foreign nationals, Ms. Bachelet said, in reference to the French grandparents of children being held in Syria or Iraq.

More Member States could tackle the issue of foreign fighters and their families in line with technical advice prepared by the High Commissioner's office (OHCHR), she said, before urging them to work with Syrian and Iraqi authorities to address urgent humanitarian needs.

Over the next three weeks, as in previous sessions, the Human Rights Council is set to examine some 100 reports by UN-appointed independent rights experts and committees, according to the UN.

There will also be dialogues on the human rights situations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar and Sudan, along with a detailed update on Friday 5 July, by the High Commissioner on her recent official visit to Venezuela.

Many other human rights themes are also on the table, including women's enjoyment of their rights in the context of work, old age and climate change; targeted surveillance and the private surveillance industry; mental health; and other essential areas of political, civil, economic, social and cultural rights. </s> GENEVA — Thousands of relatives of former foreign fighters in the Islamic State group should be repatriated, the U.N. human rights chief said Monday, insisting children in particular have suffered “grievous violations” of their rights — a challenge to European and other countries that have been reticent about taking back jihadis and their kin.

Michelle Bachelet said more than 55,000 suspected Islamic State fighters and their families have been detained in Iraq and Syria. Most are in the custody of the Iraqi government and the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, and the fighters come from some 50 countries. More than 11,000 relatives are being held at the Al Hol camp in northeastern Syria alone.

Bachelet appealed to the relevant countries to uphold their responsibilities under international law, even with regard to members of an extremist group infamous for beheadings and other grave violence. Many European countries have been reluctant to take back their nationals, led by France, which saw more of its citizens join Islamic State than any other European country.

“Foreign family members should be repatriated, unless they are to be prosecuted for crimes in accordance with international standards,” Bachelet told the Human Rights Council as it opened its summer session. “Children, in particular, have suffered grievous violations of their rights — including those who may have been indoctrinated or recruited by (Islamic State) to perpetrate violent acts.”

Bachelet said some existing cases haven’t met international standards, noting that Iraq has sentenced to death more than 150 men and women in trials “which have not afforded adequate due process guarantees.”

The U.S. has been urging European countries to bring back their nationals and put them on trial but most EU countries have refused. Russia and Kazakhstan have been most active at repatriating foreign fighters and their families.

Earlier Monday, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that eight children of two slain Islamic State group fighters had been removed from Syria to an unspecified location before planned repatriation to Australia. It would mark the country's first organized repatriation from the conflict zone. </s> Thousands Of ISIS Fighters Must Be Tried Or Let Go, U.N. Rights Chief Says

The U.N.'s human rights chief says there are only two options for dealing with the tens of thousands of suspected ISIS fighters currently detained in Syria and Iraq: They must be either tried or let go, and their families cannot be detained indefinitely.

Some 55,000 suspected ISIS fighters and their family members have been swept up and detained since ISIS was effectively toppled and lost control of its territory, the U.N. says.

"It must be clear that all individuals who are suspected of crimes — whatever their country of origin, and whatever the nature of the crime — should face investigation and prosecution, with due process guarantees," U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said. She also warned that flawed trials "can only serve the narrative of grievance and revenge."

"And the continuing detention of individuals not suspected of crimes, in the absence of lawful basis and regular independent judicial review, is not acceptable," Bachelet added.

The U.N. official highlighted the ISIS detainee issue during her remarks at a session of the Human Rights Council, saying it was not receiving the attention it deserves.

As an example, Bachelet cited the al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria, where some 11,000 people who are believed to be the wives and children of foreign ISIS fighters are living in what she called "deeply sub-standard conditions."

"Foreign family members should be repatriated, unless they are to be prosecuted for crimes in accordance with international standards," Bachelet added.

NPR's Jane Arraf recently visited the al-Hol camp, where she was told that at least 200 children have died either on the way there or in the camp, oftentimes of malnutrition or hypothermia.

"We are continuously dealing with cases of malnutrition," Massoud Ramo of the Kurdish Red Crescent told NPR.

Many countries have appeared reluctant to repatriate their own citizens who were detained in Syria and Iraq.

The U.K. is perhaps the most dramatic example, as it has stripped a young woman named Shamima Begum of her citizenship. Begum was 15 when she ran away to Syria with two friends to join the Islamic State, and she has since said she wants to return to the U.K. When she was found in the al-Hol camp in northern Syria, Begum said two of her children had died, and a third has since passed away.

"Despite the complexity of these challenges, rendering people stateless is never an acceptable option," said Bachelet.

The U.N. rights expert was particularly critical of making children stateless, saying, "To inflict statelessness on children who have already suffered so much is an act of irresponsible cruelty."

Other countries have taken different approaches. To date, the U.S. has returned three American women and 10 children from northern Syria.

When the U.S. repatriated the latest group earlier this month, NPR's Ruth Sherlock cited a State Department spokesperson who said that "appeals [lodged] by alleged American citizens to return to the U.S. are being looked at on a case-by-case basis."
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet says the tens of thousands of Islamic State fighters and family members being held in Iraq and Syria must be tried or released, and calls on countries to take responsibility for their citizens and take them back if not charged.