No ‘obligation’ to help children, Ottawa says

At least 25 Canadians trapped in Syria with accused ISIS fighters

The federal government says it has no “positive obligation” to help at least 25 Canadian children stranded in a Syrian detention camp amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria houses thousands of suspected ISIS fighters and their families, including an estimated 40,000 children. There is growing concern about safety in the camp amid continued regional conflict and the worst global health crisis in a century. The Liberal government, which is seeking a seat at the United Nations Security Council this month, has been under increased pressure from Kurdish allies, the United States and the UN to repatriate Canadian citizens being held in the camp. Those Canadians include at least 25 children, including a five-year-old orphaned girl known as Amira.

But documents obtained by the Star show that the Canadian government is arguing it has “no positive obligation” to help its citizens who are stranded in the camps.

“Canada has thus far not repatriated any of its nationals, including children,” say the documents prepared for former Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale in July 2019.

“Under section 6 (1) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Canadian citizens have the right to enter Canada; however, in most cases, Canada has no positive obligation to provide repatriation assistance … The repatriation of children presents a number of complex challenges. Notwithstanding, concern about the welfare of children being held in Al Hol has been growing.”

A spokesperson for Goodale’s successor, Public Safety Minister Bill Blair, directed the Star’s questions to Global Affairs Canada. A spokesperson for that department said the Canadian government is “particularly concerned” about the well being of children detained at al-Hol.

But Global Affairs said the situation in northeastern Syria, where the children are being held, is dangerous for their consular officials.

“Given the security situation on the ground and the current COVID-19 context, the Government of Canada’s ability to provide any kind of consular assistance in Syria is extremely limited,” spokesperson Barbara Harvey said in a written statement.

“Canadian consular officials are actively engaged with Syrian Kurdish authorities to seek information on Canadians in their custody. We continue to monitor the situation very closely,” Harvery said.

Leah West last visited the camp in September 2019. West, a Carleton University professor and former Department of Justice national security lawyer, said for the children in the camp there are almost no educational opportunities, limited outside help from non-government organizations, and the constant presence of ISIS hardliners enforcing their ideology.

“These children really don’t have any alternative for understanding how the world works other than these rules that are being imposed consistent with ISIS ideology. These kids are not being given any chance to know any different as they’re growing up in this environment,” West said in an interview with the Star.

“The longer we leave them the more and more this is going to be engraved in them. So we could see them as the future of ISIS.”

The situation appears to have gotten worse under the pressures of COVID-19.

According to a recent report by Save the Children, many children detained in the camps already have weakened immune systems or health conditions “as a result of living in desperate conditions during their formative years.”

“With shortages in water supply across the area and regular cuts from the central water station, it is difficult for people to implement the necessary level of hygiene practices to contain the virus,” the organization reported in May.

“Furthermore, with the high population density within the camp, and with people living in tents without a personal water supply, there are major challenges to implementing social distancing, or if needed, isolation in the event of illness.”

On May 20, the United Nations’ human rights commissioner specifically called out Canada for failing to bring the children home — including the girl known as Amira, whose Canadian parents were killed in a 2019 airstrike.