Ahead of Monday’s Four Corners program, three civil society groups are jointly urging the Australian Government to bring home dozens of Australian children of foreign fighters languishing in Syrian camps.
There are currently more than 60 Australian children and women living in desolate camps in northeast Syria, where there is no running water, poor access to education and extremely limited health facilities.
Save the Children, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International stand united in their call for the Australian Government to urgently repatriate all these children and women.
Save the Children Australia CEO Paul Ronalds said:
“Children are the innocent victims in all this, they have been through hell and they must not be punished for the actions of their parents. We cannot forget about them, and let them continue to suffer in dangerous camps that simply aren’t fit for children. Like millions of Syrian children, these Australian children have lived through conflict, bombardment and acute deprivation. We appreciate that there will be serious questions to answer for the adults involved, but that shouldn’t stop us from doing the right thing by these children.”
Amnesty International Australia Refugee Coordinator Dr Graham Thom said:
“We know conditions in the camps are dire. Children are going without food and water and their safety is constantly threatened by violence, disease and malnutrition. These Australian children did not choose the hardships they are currently enduring. We urge the Government to intervene immediately and save these women and children as soon as possible so that they can all return to Australia, where they belong.”
Human Rights Watch Australia Director, Elaine Pearson, said:
“Children should be treated first and foremost as victims. The Australian government should be doing what it can to protect its child citizens and bring them home, not abandon them to disease and death in a foreign desert.”
ENDS
For media inquiries contact:
Save the Children: Evan Schuurman on evan.schuurman@savethechildren.org.au or 0406 117 937
Human Rights Watch: Nicole Tooby on toobyn@hrw.org or 02 9223 2479
Amnesty International: media@amnesty.org.au or 0423 552 208