(Ottawa) Six Canadian children were repatriated recently after being detained in northeast Syria, but the whereabouts of their mother, of Quebec origin, was still unknown on Tuesday.
Published at 1:25 p.m.
Updated at 5:43 p.m.
Global Affairs Canada said in a statement that the focus is now on protecting the privacy of these children and ensuring that they will receive the support and care required to begin their new lives in the country.
Lawyer Lawrence Greenspon, who assisted the family in their efforts, received a message from Global Affairs on Tuesday morning indicating that the children had arrived safely in Montreal, where a specialized clinic is helping to settle them in the country.
He recently said the children’s mother, originally from Quebec, had been denied help from Ottawa to return to Canada for security reasons. Me Greenspon said the woman managed to leave the Al-Roj detention camp, but it was unclear where she was now.
The Canadians were among many foreign nationals detained in centers created after the conflict-torn region was recaptured from the Islamic State armed group.
In its press release, Global Affairs thanks the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria for its cooperation “under extremely difficult security conditions”.
“We also thank the United States for its assistance in repatriating Canadians and for its valuable support throughout this process. »
“Separated from their mother”
Ottawa has already organized in the past the repatriation of other Canadian women and children detained in Syria. But many Canadian children and their non-Canadian mothers continue to live in desperate conditions. A number of Canadian men are also detained.
A civil society delegation that visited Syrian prison camps last August called on Ottawa to provide immediate consular assistance to Canadian detainees and to quickly repatriate all citizens wishing to return to Canada.
Delegation members, including Senator Kim Pate and former Amnesty International Canada director Alex Neve, also urged the government to issue temporary permits to ensure that non-Canadian mothers and siblings of Canadian children can come to Canada.
Mr. Neve said Tuesday that although the six recently repatriated children are now safe in Canada, it is shameful that they were “separated from their mother.”
“The government’s assertion that opinions [de la mère] would be too extreme to allow her to return home is deeply troubling and is not at all grounded in law or consistent with human rights standards,” said Mr. Neve, now a senior fellow at the School in public and international affairs at the University of Ottawa.
He said the humanitarian delegation met with this family in Syria “and it was quite clear that they are all very close – the children with their mothers and with each other – and they really rely on each other.” others to support each other.”
