6 Canadian children stuck in Syrian detention camp have now been returned to Canada
Six Canadian children have been repatriated from Syria according to a state‐ ment from Global Affairs Canada.
"The Government of Canada has taken extraordi‐ nary measures to repatriate six Canadian children from northeastern Syria," the statement said.
"The focus is now on pro‐ tecting the children's privacy and ensuring they receive the support and care needed to begin a new life here in Cana‐ da."
A separate statement is‐ sued by U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said the children were brought back from Syria as part of an operation that saw the U.S. repatriate 11 of its citizens, as well as Canadian, Dutch and Finnish nationals.
Canadian lawyer Lawrence Greenspon con‐ firmed to CBC News that Global Affairs Canada (GAC) informed him the children were transferred to Canada overnight, and that all six have now arrived in Mon‐ treal.
Greenspon said that a family has been identified that will care for the six chil‐ dren and the Clinique de Po‐ larization was also present for their arrival.
Greenspon told CBC News in June that the children's mother was not being per‐ mitted to return to Canada after failing to pass a security screening assessment.
Greenspon said the gov‐ ernment told him it decided not to repatriate the woman because she "adheres to ex‐ treme ideological beliefs" and could pose a risk to the public. He said the govern‐ ment provided no details on how they arrived at that deci‐ sion.
"They don't indicate the depth of their assessment or what they took into account or how they came to this con‐ clusion," he said.
Provincial authorities to help with settlement
Blinken's statement detailing the repatriation effort said there are approximately 30,000 people from more than 60 countries, mostly children, that remain in alHol and Roj displaced per‐ sons camps in Syria.
"As governments under‐ take repatriation of their na‐ tionals, we urge thoughtful‐ ness and flexibility to ensure that to the maximum extent possible family units remain intact," the Blinken statement said.
GAC said that it is working with provincial authorities, NGOs, "child welfare services and local shelters, to facili‐ tate reception, housing and other support services," for the children.
"We also thank the United States for its assistance in repatriating Canadians and for its valuable support throughout this process," the GAC statement said.
Alex Neve, a Canadian hu‐ man rights lawyer and former secretary general of Amnesty International Cana‐ da, responded to the news on the social media platform X, saying it is "welcome news" but is also a "glaringly missed opportunity to en‐ sure that all Canadians and their mothers are repatri‐ ated" from northeast Syria.
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly told reporters Tuesday that because the children already suffered with the challenges of being held in a detention camp, she will not comment further on the case.
"These children have gone through an extremely diffi‐ cult situation," Joly said. "I was extremely preoccupied by the children that are in camps in northeast Syria."