France proceeded on Tuesday, July 4, to the repatriation of twenty-five children and ten women who were detained in camps in northeastern Syria, said the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a press release, adding to thank the administration of northeast Syria for its cooperation.
While the minors were entrusted to the services responsible for child welfare, the Quai d’Orsay said, the adults were handed over to the “competent judicial authorities”.
This new collective repatriation operation confirms the break started in 2022 by France with the policy of “case by case”, which had earned it condemnation by international bodies and blamed by French advisory bodies.
Change of position in 2022
After the fall of the Islamic State (IS) organization in 2019, many governments were reluctant to repatriate women who had left for Syria or Iraq to join IS, between security fears and concerns about the public opinion in the event of the return of so-called radicalized people.
Initially resistant to such repatriations, believing that women who joined IS should be judged in the country where they were – while child returns were judged on a case-by-case basis – Paris changed its position. in 2022.
France carried out a first repatriation operation in July 2022, and several others since, after recurring criticism from the United Nations and humanitarian NGOs against countries refusing the return of their nationals.