Four individuals who were detained in camps run by the Islamic State in Syria have to be returned, and Canada has challenged the court’s ruling.
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According to reports, in order for the youngsters to be repatriated, it is also requesting that mothers detained in the camps give up custody of their Canadian children.
Although the moms are not Canadian citizens, the kids are since their dads are. Campaigners for human rights have urged the nation to return its residents.
In January, Canada consented to return six women and 13 children, but refused to return the four men, claiming that because it had closed its embassy in Syria in 2012, it was under no duty to help or return Syrian residents.
The guys, who have not been formally charged with any crimes, must now be returned home, according to a recent federal court decision. One of the four is Jack Letts, a dual citizen of the United Kingdom and Canada whose British citizenship was cancelled.
Source:- Al- Monitor
Canada contested the verdict, which found that the nation had infringed the men’s fundamental rights, in the appeal that was submitted on Friday.
Canada requested a stay of the court’s order pending the resolution of its appeal.
Following the fall of the so-called Islamic State caliphate in 2019, the return of the four men, together with the women and kids, would be the largest to date for Canada.
Opposition To Bringing Back Foreign Moms
In a different situation, several Syrian mothers who reside in camps in the north-east claim they were instructed that their children could only immigrate to Canada on their own.
The foreign ministry of Canada contacted one of the moms in November, stating in a letter that it will assess whether her children are eligible to be transferred to Canada given the deteriorating conditions in the camps.
Image Source:- CBC
According to the letter, the nation’s repatriation programme only applies to Canadians.
According to Prof. Alexandra Bain, the director of the non-profit organization Families Against Violent Extremism with headquarters in Canada, the administration contacted the moms once again on January 26.
The mothers informed Prof. Bain that they had been advised to contemplate bringing their children to Canada alone. Several Canadians who are detained in the camps have been in contact with Bain.
The women said that they had been given a week and a half to decide.
She is aware of four foreign moms who have a combined total of 10 kids, the majority of whom are younger than seven. She said that the dads were either deceased or in prison.
The majority of these kids are quite young, and some of them were even born in the camp, according to Prof. Bain, who criticised Canada for asking that the families be split up.
The moms’ deadline has long past, and they and their kids are still in the camps.
Lawyers for the group said that the Canadian government had not made it clear how future cases involving them would be handled.
One of the women’s attorneys, Faraz Bawa of Calgary, said he and the other attorneys are currently attempting to secure their clients temporary residency visas so they may enter Canada.
However, Mr. Bawa claimed that it was unclear if immigration authorities would approve those petitions.
How Canada’s Immigration System Stacks Up Internationally
Human rights organizations have criticized Canada’s handling of the cases involving the women, including Reprieve, a UK-based organization that deals with inmates in the Syrian camps.
It is cruel for the nation to consider severing the children from their carers, according to Katherine Cornett, project director for Reprieve’s Syria and Iraq incarceration project.
Social services are not being handled in this process, and the child’s best interests will always be taken into consideration, according to Ms. Cornett might never have any further contact with their parents at all.
She claimed that the awful living conditions within the camp make the moms’ decision more challenging.
More than half of the foreign residents in the camps, according to Ms. Cornett, are minors who are “being confined there as a sort of collective punishment.” She said that adults living in the camp lack access to legal counsel or a just court system.
Other nations, such as France and Germany, have taken action to deport entire family groups with mixed nationalities, according to Ms. Cornett. Additionally, the US, Spain, and the Netherlands have sent their people back to Syria.
People who traveled to fight for the so-called Islamic State have had their citizenship taken away by the UK. Two nationalities were returned last year after being purportedly identified as victims of human trafficking.
In October, Canada sent two mothers and two kids back to Syria. One of the women who was detained on suspicion of supporting terrorism has now been freed on bail, while the other was let go on a peace bond.
