(Part 1) High-Level International Conference on the Repatriation of Persons from Al-Hol, Surrounding Camps and Places of Detention.

Organized by the Government of the Republic of Iraq with the support of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT).

• High-Level Opening Session
• Ministerial Session: Leveraging Multilateralism for Repatriation, and Prosecution, Rehabilitation and Reintegration
• Session 1: The Situation in Camps and Places of Detention and Global Repatriation Trends

The High-Level Conference, aims to:Provide an up-to-date overview of the humanitarian, human rights and security situation of the camps and places of detention in northeast Syria, along with data relating to third country nationals;

• Facilitate the exchange of experiences amongst Member States on the repatriation,
• prosecution, rehabilitation and reintegration (PRR) of individuals from camps and places of detention;
• Foster cooperation at regional and international levels on repatriation and PRR efforts;
• Identify and discuss ways to expedite the voluntary, safe, and dignified return of
• individuals, in line with international law and national capacities.

Since the military defeat of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da'esh) in 2019,
thousands of individuals with perceived or actual ties to Da'esh, including suspected foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs) and accompanying family members, have been arbitrarily detained in camps and places of detention in northeast Syria. As of July 2025, more than 30,000 individuals, many of whom are Syrian and Iraqi nationals, together with approximately 8,500 foreign nationals from over 62 countries, remain stranded in these camps.

The population of these camps is predominantly women and children, with an estimated 60% under the age of 18.2 The conditions inside the camps and places of detention continue to deteriorate, representing a protracted human rights, humanitarian, and security crisis marked by arbitrary and prolonged detention, denial of fundamental human rights, acute deprivation of basic services, and high risks of violence, exploitation and radicalization to terrorism. These sites have increasingly become a target of groups like Da'esh, raising serious concerns about the security of the populations held there and the potential resurgence of terrorist groups. In addition, terrorist groups, including the remnants of Da'esh, have attempted to use the camps and places of detention for recruitment and plotting of potential attacks by exploiting the needs and situation of vulnerability of men, women and children present there. Recent developments in the Syrian Arab Republic cast further concerns over the security situation of the camps and places of detention and highlight the risks of regional instability in case there are mass prisonbreaks unsupervised departures.

Related Sites and Documents: Concept note.

(Part 1) High-Level International Conference on the Repatriation of Persons from Al-Hol, Surrounding Camps and Places of Detention!

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