An independent report said conditions in Syria’s al-Hol and al-Roj refugee camps were “inhumane, dangerous and degrading” and urged the UK to comply with its international obligations.

The UK government should voluntarily assist former repentant Islamic State (ISIS) members to return home Shamima Begum and others living in Syrian refugee camps who have been stripped of their British citizenship, a new report urges.

The UK’s Independent Commission on Counter-Terrorism Law, Policy and Practice has said the government’s current position on nationals and former nationals detained in Syrian refugee camps is “increasingly untenable” because they are living in “inhumane” conditions.

“The government should facilitate the voluntary repatriation of British nationals, including those who have been stripped of their British citizenship,” the statement said.

“A coherent, humane and security-focused repatriation strategy will enhance compliance with international obligations and promote long-term public security and social stability.”

Begum’s case is at the heart of Britain’s policy of revoking the citizenship of nationals who join Syrian armed groups. She left London with two school friends in 2015 as a minor at 15 and later married an Islamic State fighter. Begum gave birth to three children, but all died in infancy.

The British government revoked her citizenship in 2019, shortly after she was discovered in a Syrian detention camp.

She has since challenged the decision, which was dismissed by the Court of Appeal in February 2024. Begum was born in the UK to Bangladeshi parents and does not hold Bangladeshi citizenship.

She admitted she joined the group knowing it was classified as a “terrorist” group and said she felt “ashamed” and regretted joining.

Conditions in refugee camps ‘dangerous’

The report quoted the United Nations as saying conditions in refugee camps, including the notorious al-Hol and al-Roj camps, were “inhumane, dangerous and degrading.”

“Many detainees, particularly women and children, are victims of coercion, trafficking or exploitation, even if some are involved in terrorism-related activities,” the report added.

According to the committee, 55 to 72 people with links to the UK remain in refugee camps and other detention centres, including 30 to 40 children.

The report said the UK’s “reluctance” to repatriate its citizens, including those who have been stripped of their citizenship, made it an “outlier” among “similar jurisdictions” and could prove “counterproductive to long-term security interests”.

“Pressure from the U.S. government to require all countries to repatriate their nationals, regime change in Syria, and the prospect of the so-called ‘European Guantanamo’ becoming a ‘British Guantánamo’ as other countries repatriate may force governments to begin returns,” the report states.