Tens of thousands of people remain trapped in life-threatening conditions in al-Hol and Roj camps in northeast Syria amid renewed hostilities two months after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's government, Human Rights Watch said today. The US government's suspension of foreign aid to nongovernmental organizations operating in these camps is exacerbating life-threatening conditions, risking further destabilization of a precarious security situation.
All governments should urgently repatriate their nationals arbitrarily detained in northeast Syria. Pending repatriation, all parties to the conflict as well as Syria's caretaker government should cooperate to ensure the security of camps and prisons housing Islamic State (ISIS) suspects and their families and take urgent steps to improve the dire conditions. Any political settlement in the region should include ending the arbitrary detention of those with alleged ISIS ties and their families and ensuring due process for individuals accused of abuses and crimes.
"People detained unlawfully in al-Hol and Roj camps should not be left to languish forever," said Hiba Zayadin, senior Middle East researcher at Human Rights Watch. "Their dire situation needs to be included in discussions about Syria's future, and the fragility of the situation in Syria should push countries to repatriate their nationals with even greater urgency."
The al-Hol and Roj camps, administered by the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), the civilian wing of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), house approximately 42,500 people, primarily the wives, other adult female relatives, and children of male ISIS suspects. About 18,000 are foreigners, including women and children from more than 60 countries.
The detainees have been held arbitrarily in inhuman, degrading, and life-threatening conditions for six years, since they were rounded up during the fall of the Islamic State "caliphate." The foreign detainees have never been brought before a court, making their detention arbitrary and unlawful as well as indefinite. Over 9,000 detainees with alleged ISIS affiliation from more than 50 countries remain held in SDF-guarded detention facilities across northeast Syria as well.
International humanitarian workers told Human Rights Watch that the US funding freeze would limit provision of essential services for camp residents.
"Immediate, significant impacts [of the funding suspension] are being felt across the response," a senior humanitarian on the northeast Syria response told Human Rights Watch. Stop-work orders have left organizations unsure how to proceed with deliveries of essential goods, like kerosene and water, further exacerbating pre-existing shortages. "The northeast Syria response will struggle to sustain if the Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance is not exempted [from the funding freeze] or provided a waiver by Washington, DC urgently," the humanitarian worker said.
Blumont, the organization responsible for camp management in Al Hol and Roj camps, received a stop-work order from the US Department of State Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration on the evening of January 24, the humanitarian worker said. Blumont suspended activities and withdrew all camp management staff, including guards responsible for securing sites, services, facilities, and warehouse stocks for nongovernmental groups. As a result, several other groups paused all activities in the camps.
On January 28, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a waiver for "life-saving humanitarian assistance." The same day, Blumont received a two-week exemption to the funding freeze, allowing them to resume activities. "But this waiver is just a countdown until we are in the exact same situation, and the overall issues remain the same as during the time before the waiver came into effect," the humanitarian worker said.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio should continue US assistance to organizations providing essential lifesaving assistance in northeast Syria.
Hostilities in northeast Syria have escalated between the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army and the SDF since al-Assad's government was toppled on December 8, 2024. This conflict has severely affected regional security and exacerbated humanitarian conditions, with over 100,000 civilians displaced to areas governed by the AANES.
The SDF has repeatedly voiced alarm over the security risks posed by the camps and warned of a resurgence of ISIS following the fall of Assad's government. In an interview with Sky News, General Abdi Mazloum, commander-in-chief of the SDF, stated that ongoing military confrontations with Türkiye and the SNA have diverted SDF resources, leaving fewer forces to ensure security within the camps.
About two-thirds of those in the camps are children, most far too young to have played an active role in ISIS. Many were born in the camps.
Repatriation efforts remain sporadic and insufficient. Since 2019, approximately 36 countries have accepted the return of their citizens. Iraq has repatriated over 10,000 citizens, while the rest of the countries combined have repatriated approximately 3,365, of which 2,200 were children.
However, other countries, particularly in Europe, have been hesitant or outright refused to bring back their nationals. Others have stripped alleged ISIS members of their citizenship, making them stateless.
The Australian government has repatriated 24 citizens but stalled on bringing home the rest. In 2023, a Federal Court judge dismissed an application from the humanitarian organization Save the Children that sought to compel the Australian government to repatriate 20 Australian children and 11 women from the camps.
Research by Human Rights Watch has found that many of the children detained in the camps who were subsequently repatriated or returned to their countries are reintegrating successfully.
Governments often cite security concerns and domestic political pressures as reasons for inaction, though security experts say that an orderly repatriation is better from both a human rights and security perspectives. The United States has facilitated some repatriations, but its calls for broader international action have largely gone unheeded.
On January 13, France's top foreign intelligence official, Nicolas Lerner, who heads the General Directorate of External Security, told Le Monde that France remains committed to targeting ISIS operatives as part of the international coalition's efforts. Lerner didn't mention potential repatriation of French nationals, though the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, the European Court of Human Rights, and the UN Committee Against Torture found France in violation of human rights laws for failing to repatriate women and children held in northeast Syria.
The fate of those allegedly affiliated with ISIS, whether in the camps or in SDF-run prisons, should be a central issue in discussions about Syria's future. Prolonging their detention without due process is not only unlawful but also untenable, Human Rights Watch said.
The AANES's indefinite detention of foreigners without providing them with the opportunity to challenge the legality and necessity of their confinement is arbitrary and unlawful. The blanket detention of ISIS suspects' family members amounts to collective punishment, a war crime.
Detaining people without any due process and in inhuman or degrading conditions such as those in the camps and prisons in northeast Syria is strictly prohibited under international human rights law and the laws of war. Countries should fulfill their obligations under international law by repatriating their nationals, prosecuting those responsible for crimes, and providing support for reintegration.
UN Security Council resolutions, including Resolution 2396 of 2017, emphasize the importance of assisting women and children associated with groups like ISIS who may themselves be victims of terrorism, including through rehabilitation and reintegration.
"Without urgent action, the dire conditions in al-Hol and Roj camps will only worsen, fueling instability in the region and beyond," Zayadin said. "Thousands of lives, many of them children, are hanging in the balance, and the indefensible status quo of the last six years should not be allowed to continue."
