A delegation of Canadian civil society working with Senator Kim Pate is urging the Canadian government to take action on detainees in northeast Syria who are facing similar conditions to those in Guantanamo Bay after the September 11, 2001 attacks. The delegation recently returned from a visit to the region, where they witnessed the conditions in camps housing accused members and family members of Islamic State group militants.
The Islamic State group rose to power during a civil war in Syria that began 12 years ago, resulting in hundreds of thousands of deaths. Kurdish forces, with support from an international anti-IS coalition, as well as Iraqi and Syrian government troops, managed to recapture the territory by 2019. However, tens of thousands of individuals, including Canadians who joined the Islamic State and the children they had while there, remain in detention centers with no immediate hope of release.
The delegation member, Alex Neve, described the conditions in the detention centers as lacking accountability and filled with human rights violations. He compared it to the abuses witnessed at Guantanamo Bay. The group claims that there are nine Canadian men being held in detention centers in northeast Syria on allegations of working with the Islamic State, and that they have been detained for many years without trial, communication with their families, access to lawyers, or consular visits.
The delegation has called on the Canadian government to provide full consular support, including in-person visits, to all Canadians detained in the camps. They are also urging the government to engage with officials of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) to repatriate Canadians detained in the camps who wish to return to Canada.
Additionally, the group is asking for temporary residence permits for non-Canadian mothers and siblings of children born to Canadian citizens held in the camps. They are calling on Ottawa to provide resources and support to strengthen the justice response in northeast Syria and increase humanitarian aid in areas such as infrastructure, healthcare, education, and food and water.
Global Affairs Canada has stated that they are concerned about the health and well-being of Canadian children in the camps, but cannot comment on specific cases or potential future actions due to privacy concerns. They have been in contact with the delegation and Syrian Kurdish officials to gather information about Canadians in custody in Syria.
Overall, the delegation is urging the Canadian government to take immediate action to address the conditions faced by detainees in northeast Syria and provide support for their repatriation and well-being.
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