Stripping Islamic State terrorists of citizenship won’t bring peace

The head of the international Red Cross has said that the decision to strip Isis recruits of citizenship will not help create peace in Syria in the long-term.

Speaking to the Guardian, Peter Maurer said that the decision, which effectively makes former citizens stateless, was quickly becoming a key humanitarian problem.

“There are things which are probably not conducive to a solution and I fail to see at the present moment how stripping citizenship and making people stateless or just pushing or betting on a second nationality which should deal with the issue brings more clarity,” he said.

Mr Maurer added that by stranding former citizens overseas in Syria, countries were putting more pressure on Syria and Iraq, which do not have the infrastructure to deal with stateless people.

Talking to Julian Norman, a human rights barrister who specialises in immigration law at Drystone Chambers, explained that all children “have the right to a nationality”.

The Government has stripped a number of Isis recruits of their nationality.

The decision to do this became a key talking point this summer when then Home Secretary Sajid Javid stripped Shamima Begum of her citizenship.

Ms Begum was 15 when she decided to leave her home in east London for Syria. Four years later, a pregnant Ms Begum, while living in a refugee camp, petitioned to come back to the UK so her child would have a chance at survival.

The Home Office denied Ms Begum, and her baby subsequently died.

Mr Maurer says that stripping citizenship and statelessness is predominately affecting children.

The UK is often unwilling to take back children caught in conflict as they are thought to post a security risk. Currently, it’s believed about 60 British children are in Syria.

The Government would do better to not strip the citizenship of these children and their parents, Maurer explained, adding that at the very least they should be awarded a “basic process of law” before citizenship is taken away from them.

Mr Norman added: “Stateless people, especially children, are often deprived of basic rights such as health care or education, and vulnerable to abuses like trafficking.

“British children are not responsible for the choices of their parents. A pass-the-parcel approach, where each state hopes another will be responsible, is incompatible with the basic human rights of these children.”

Source: I News