Children, part of a group of detainees, look through a fence in al-Hol camp after the Syrian government took control of it following the withdrawal of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), in Hasakeh, Syria, on Jan. 21, 2026. (Credit: Khalil Ashawi/Reuters)
Beatrice Eriksson is the co-founder of Repatriate the Children (RTC) Sweden, a children’s rights organization working to raise awareness of children being detained in northeast Syria.Syria stands at a critical juncture. After more than a decade of war and terrorism, and more than five decades of dictatorship under the Assad regime — marked by arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances and unlawful mass imprisonment — the country faces a defining question: can it move away from unlawful detention as a governing practice, or will it remain trapped in systems that defined the Assad era?This question remains unanswered unless another is addressed. As Syria reasserts state authority, the international community must face an equally pressing issue: will it continue to leave thousands of foreign nationals in legal limbo on Syrian soil, or...
Beatrice Eriksson is the co-founder of Repatriate the Children (RTC) Sweden, a children’s rights organization working to raise awareness of children being detained in northeast Syria.Syria stands at a critical juncture. After more than a decade of war and terrorism, and more than five decades of dictatorship under the Assad regime — marked by arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances and unlawful mass imprisonment — the country faces a defining question: can it move away from unlawful detention as a governing practice, or will it remain trapped in systems that defined the Assad era?This question remains unanswered unless another is addressed. As Syria reasserts state authority, the international community must face an equally pressing issue: will it continue to leave thousands of foreign nationals in legal limbo on Syrian soil,...
