#BringUKChildrenHome - The Rights Observatory

There are currently approximately 35 British children trapped in overcrowded unsafe refugee camps in North-East Syria. The UK government can rescue them from this peril and bring them home now.

Urge the UK Foreign Office to take urgent action in bringing these children home to the UK where they belong.

Dear Foreign Secretary,

I am writing to you regarding the ongoing efforts to repatriate British children trapped in northern Syria.

Recent figures released by the Egmont Institute suggest that at least 35 British children remain stuck in squalid and unsanitary conditions, with the dual threat of COVID-19 and the harsh Syrian winter further placing them at risk.

I understand and appreciate your previously stated position, in which you “assess each case carefully” whilst ultimately concluding that “safely facilitating the return of orphans or unaccompanied British children, where possible, is the right thing to do.” Sadly, this approach has now been made unviable by the current global crisis. Time is a luxury that these children do not have and subjecting them to risk of death and disease is an unacceptable price to pay to ensure the conventional procedures have been followed.

That is why I am calling on the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office to accelerate efforts to repatriate all remaining British children in Syria. Much like we have seen globally in the pursuit of an effective COVID-19 vaccine, if processes can be streamlined to save the loss of life, then these avenues can and should be explored.

The United Nations, the United States and the European Parliament, all of whom are historic allies and those that share our ideals and principles, have all echoed our call. The complete repatriation of these children would reaffirm our country’s commitment to the protection of human rights on a global scale.

Article 9 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, of which we are signatory, states: “States Parties shall ensure that a child shall not be separated from his or her parents against their will”, except where separation is in the best interests of the child. The Council of Europe previously concluded that: “[Mothers] continuing to stay in camps or detention facilities cannot be considered to be in the best interest of the child.”

As such, we agree with the International Observatory of Human Rights’ call that these children should not be separated from their mothers.

There are of course complicated logistics to be considered, but it is notable that the total number of British children stuck in Syria would take up less than one-fifth of an A320 EasyJet commercial airliner. This surely does not represent an insurmountable task, both in facilitating their return and safeguarding them when they arrive.

These are not individuals who deserted our country to fight for a worldview diametrically opposed to ours, these are not those that pose a risk to our soil should they be returned to it and these are not those guilty of any crimes.

These are young, British children, who through no fault of their own have found themselves on the other side of the world, amidst atrocities of which no child should ever become familiarised.

Thank you in advance for your support

Kind regards,

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