Following former US president's lead, Biden to send suspected jihadists home

Biden administration in favour of repatriating jihadists

photo_camera AFP/BULENT KILIC - Daesh members detained by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Baghouz, in Syria's Deir Ezzor province, 22 February 2019

Jeffrey DeLaurentis, acting US ambassador for special political affairs, has informed the UN of the decision of the new US presidency on the repatriation of foreign jihadists, men, women and children, to their countries of origin. The Biden administration believes this is "the best option" to prevent the development of a Daesh threat.

DeLaurentis told a Security Council conference call on the terrorist threat that "the global threat from Daesh will increase if the international community does not repatriate its citizens".

The decision on the repatriation of foreign jihadists, especially those present in Iraq and Syria, was a position from which the Republican administration of Donald Trump started. This is in contrast to other European countries that have a policy of denying repatriation to adults and only allowing the return of minors on a case-by-case basis, as in France, for example. It is believed that they should be tried in countries where they are suspected of having committed crimes and which only accept the return of minors on a case-by-case basis.

This position of encouraging the repatriation of foreign jihadists, especially present in Iraq and Syria, was already that of Donald Trump's Republican administration. It opposes the approach of several European countries, including France, which refuse to repatriate adults, believing they should be tried in countries where they are suspected of crimes and which only accept the return of minors on a case-by-case basis.

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"Beyond being the best option from a security point of view, repatriation is also the right thing to do. It is estimated that 90 per cent of the children in the camps are under the age of 12 and 50 per cent are under the age of five," the US diplomat insisted. "We note with concern how women and children languish in camps in extreme conditions, with limited access to education, increasing the risk of radicalisation," he said.

He mentions that the Daesh group remains a serious threat as it exploits instability in Syria and Iraq and shows its intent to carry out attacks abroad and continues to inspire terrorist attacks from sub-Saharan Africa to the Asia-Pacific. 

According to the US ambassador, "tens of thousands of suspected foreign terrorist fighters remain in conflict zones". But beyond these areas, "there is a growing threat posed by jihadist-affiliated groups around the world, especially on the African continent," he added.

DeLaurentis called it "alarming, but not unexpected, to see these affiliates from across Africa working together. This represents a danger to all of us". He expects the UN sanctions committee in charge of the issue to add names to its list of entities and individuals targeted for international coercive measures in the coming months from Africa.

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