An estimated 4,640 children travelled to Iraq or Syria, alone or with their families, to join the ‘Islamic State’. Since the fall of the terrorist group, many of these children live in displacement camps in deplorable conditions. They have not only been victims of recruitment or trafficking, but they have also witnessed extreme violence and indoctrination. We call on State authorities to urgently respond and guarantee their rights.
Before and after the proclamation of the caliphate of the so-called Islamic State in 2014, people from over 80 countries travelled to Iraq and Syria to join the terrorist group. Taken unwillingly or recruited, children have been used to carry weapons, guard strategic locations, and arrest civilians. They have also been subjected to sexual violence, forced marriage, or were exploited in suicide bombings.
Their nightmare has not ended with the defeat of ISIL; in the al-Hol camp in Northern Syria, which hosts most of the displaced people from ISIL occupied territories and relatives of ISIL fighters, 371 children died in 2019 as a result of deplorable living conditions.
The right to return
Regardless of their role, or whether they had been recruited or their parents were involved with ISIL, the Convention on the Rights of the Child specifies that these children have rights. States who have ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the involvement of children in armed conflict, such as Switzerland, have the obligation to demobilise children recruited by these groups and assume their reintegration into society.
We call on all authorities to accept international responsibility for their citizens, especially children, by repatriating them. States must facilitate their rehabilitation and recovery. They must ensure that children are not separated from their parents, unless it’s in their best interest, and that they are not criminalised purely for their association with or membership in a terrorist group.
Find out more about the situation of children who have been enrolled in armed groups, their rights and what Tdh and its partners recommend by reading our position paper, ‘Bringing Children Home: A children's rights approach to returning from ISIL’.