Canada imposes ‘life sentence’ on its nationals in Syria – UN official
ERBIL, KRI, Iraq (North Press) – Fionnuala Ni Aolain, the UN rapporteur on counter-terrorism and human rights, condemned on Saturday Canada for its failure to repatriate its nationals from northeast Syria, describing it as a ‘life sentence’ and accusing Ottawa of hypocrisy.
She said in an interview with CBC, “It is inconceivable for any country, including Canada, to leave its vulnerable children in these camps for a day longer than they should be.”
She also added that “Canada is putting the lives of its citizens at risk by not helping to return them from prisons in Syria.”
The UN special rapporteur also accused the Canadian government of “hypocrisy,” arguing that its actions on citizens in Syria devalued other international efforts on this regard.
“Canada is the leading state on the children-in-armed-conflict agenda at the UN. But actually those words ring hollow when you’re telling other countries to look after their children in other conflicts and you’re not prepared to look after your own,” she said.
Many Canadian nationals, who have previously joined the Islamic State (ISIS), are detained in camps and prisons of northeast Syria, which are under the control of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES). They have not faced charges or been given a trial.
The UN official visited a some of these camps and prisons during a visit to the region in July, and she reported that she was devastated by the conditions and the number of children detained in prisons.
“I know people are tired of hearing about the conditions in northeast Syria, but the conditions worsen by the day,” she noted.
The Canadian government has been embroiled in a federal court lawsuit launched by Canadian families of citizens detained in the camp.
The government argued it is not a citizen right to expect the government to go to extraordinary measures and put officials at risk to rescue and return them if they are in trouble abroad.
As part of a last-minute deal, the government agreed to repatriate 19 women and children as part of the lawsuit, but men were not included.
Canadian women in detention camps have the choice to send their children alone or to stay together.
“People will not survive these kinds of conditions [in northeast Syria] unless their governments take the responsibility of bringing them home,” she concluded.