What: IOHR organise a discussion on the pathways for the children of I.S and militant groups.
When: 14th March 2019, 6-8pm
Where: Bankside House London School of Economics – Auditorium room

On Thursday 14 March the International Observatory of Human Rights organised a discussion hosted by Valerie Peay, Director of the International Observatory of Human Rights, that brought together families of British and European children to share their first-hand experiences of trying to get the children back to safety from Syria and Iraq. Concern for these children grows as fighting in Syria comes to its conclusion and the last remaining pockets of I.S-held enclaves crumble.

According to an article published by the Guardian in December 2018, there are 1,200 foreign children, including 10 from Britain, left in legal limbo since ISIS was driven out of its de facto capital Raqqa, in October 2017.

The panel included top human rights barrister Usha R Sood and former Al Qaeda member and founder of Active Change Foundation Hanif Qadir and policy officers from the Belgian NGO, Child Focus who discussed where the UK and Europe stand in terms of their human rights responsibilities and commitments to international law.

The discussion questioned the general position that governments take on the innocent children whose parents have chosen to return from Syria and examined what efforts and processes have been put in place to bring these children back home.