XUNICEF News and Views

 10-year-old Sundus al-Hassan at Al Hol While SCF has issued several warnings of the crisis in the camps, so far UNICEF seems to have expressed general concern about the impact of potential fighting  in the region.  Our concern should go beyond the immediate crisis of so many mothers and children left without access to food, water and medical supplies, but also to the many child rights issues of families held in prison camps without trial or legal process since March 2019 and with no clear pathway to return to society in their countries of origin. Especially concerning is the fact that many of the 12,000 or so children have been born in the camps and have never known life outside of the barbed wire.

What next for the Women and Children of ISIL held at Al Hol and Al Roj? Authors:  Bill Roggio / Associated Press / Ghaith Alsayed / Martin Chulov / Seth J. Frantzman Publications: Long War Journal / AP News / The Guardian / The Jerusalem Post The fate of approximately 27,400 women and children detained in Al-Hol and Al-Roj camps—along with roughly 9,000 ISIS fighters held in prisons across northeast Syria—hangs in the balance following violent clashes that erupted just hours after a ceasefire agreement was supposed to end nearly two weeks of fighting between Syrian government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.

Since the defeat of ISIS in northern Syria and Iraq in March 2019, thousands of captured fighters have been held under guard by Kurdish forces in northeastern Syria, with camps sustained largely by US funding. Prisons in northeast Syria still hold over 8,000 ISIS prisoners of war. No legal process has been established to adjudicate these cases, allowing release of the innocent or punishment of the guilty.

Especially for those who worked in the context of the Syrian refugee crisis - a must-read.  Quote from the authors: "What would it take to enable Syrians who earnestly wish to go home? A refugee crisis doesn’t resolve itself: Just as the displacement of millions requires an architecture to host and integrate refugees, their return will take more than wishful rhetoric and half-baked policies. The risk, right now, is to create the opposite of a virtuous circle: a situation in which returnees face so many problems as to discourage others from following suit." Dina

Grapevine - heard from Syria country level staff At least one group of staff seem pleased with the consolidation of offices - Syrian staff say that they are pleased that they are no longer separated in two offices. 

Report shared by Niloufar Pourzand From a Syrian friend Niloufar

  Clashes in Syria’s Sweida province between Druze militias and Bedouin tribes erupted after the reported robbery and kidnapping of a Druze man by Bedouin gunmen at a checkpoint, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights . The incident reignited long-standing sectarian tensions in a region where the Druze, an offshoot of Shia Islam, live alongside Sunni Muslim Bedouins with a history of rivalry over land and identity. During Syria’s civil war, the Druze formed their own militias to defend themselves from both jihadist groups and state forces. With the war's end, a Sunni Islamist interim government has emerged, heightening Druze fears of marginalization. The government’s deployment of troops to quell the fighting was viewed by many Druze as support for the Bedouins, prompting fierce resistance and accusations of abuses by state forces, including extrajudicial killings and looting, as reported by The Guardian . Over 500 people have been killed and nearly 2,000 families ...

Children, who account for more than half the camp's population, are not safe and are missing out on a chance for a normal life.

“UNICEF is deeply alarmed by the recent surge in violence in Syria’s coastal areas, which has reportedly claimed the lives of at least 13 children, including a six-month-old baby.

Al Hawl Camp, Hasakah Province, NE Syria Article shared by John Gilmartin This NY Times story about the contractors who manage the Al Hoi (Al Hawl also used) detention camp for ISIS remnants, which is now out of funds and closing, thanks to Elon and Co.

" The rest of us could help or hinder. A serious concern relates to the fragmented international aid system – with its humanitarian, development, and financing divides, agency rivalries and competitive donor interests. Could our world rise above this to truly help Syria?"  Mukesh Kapila

Many of us shared in the joy Syrians felt this week over the release of thousands of prisoners long held by the Assad regime. Amid the euphoria, it is easy to forget that in northern Syria tens of thousands of others are still detained in camps where they have been held since 2019. 

Syrians now have ‘historic opportunity’ to build a peaceful future, says Guterres As reports continued to emerge from the Syrian capital, Damascus, where opposition forces declared victory overnight on State television, the UN chief said in a statement : The future of Syria is a matter for the Syrians to determine.

8 December 2024  “With the situation in Syria rapidly evolving, UNICEF reiterates the UN Secretary-General’s appeal for calm, to refrain from violence, and to protect the rights of all Syrians – especially children, at least 80 of whom have been killed or injured in the past two weeks.

  Eight-year-old Rama uses a walker  to traverse her neighborhood in east Aleppo, Syria,  where the scars of war mark every building behind her.  “I am deeply alarmed by the recent escalation of hostilities in northwest Syria, which has reportedly resulted in the tragic killing of at least seven children and injured another 32.

  Article shared by Tom McDermott

Article shared by Tom McDermott