Source · Select Committees · Human Rights (Joint Committee)
Recommendation 16
16
Not Addressed
The Government must adopt a proactive approach and seek to identify and locate minors and...
Recommendation
The Government must adopt a proactive approach and seek to identify and locate minors and where feasible repatriate them as soon as practically possible. (Recommendation, Paragraph 97)
Government response summary AI-generated
While stating 'Agree,' the government's response details the establishment of an Iraqi judicial body for international judicial cooperation and evidence-sharing, which does not address the recommendation for the UK government to proactively identify, locate, and repatriate minors.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government · verbatim extract
Not Addressed
23. Consular support is not available from the UK Government from within Syria, as all British Embassy services in Damascus are suspended. This makes it extremely challenging to provide direct help to British nationals located there. The FCDO is nevertheless committed to considering every request for consular assistance, including repatriation, from Syria on a case-by-case basis, taking in to account all relevant circumstances. Where British unaccompanied minors and orphans are brought to our attention, it is Government policy to seek to repatriate them where feasible and subject to confirmation of identity and nationality, and any national security concerns. Where minors are accompanied by a parent in the camps, the parent must consent to their repatriation, whether repatriation is with or without the parent. 24. Additionally, as acknowledged by the Committee, the conditions in Syria continue to be difficult, particularly in the North East, where there remains a high threat from terrorism and widespread political instability. This increases the challenge the UK Government faces when facilitating these repatriations.
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