London: A former cabinet minister on Sunday urged the British foreign secretary to stop funding detention facilities in Syria.
In a letter to James Cleverly, David Davis demanded that the government stop providing financial support for the "illegal detention" of children in the camps run by the Kurds and reveal the number of British minors who are currently residing in north-east Syria.
According to the Guardian newspaper, Davis expressed disappointment that Lord Tariq Ahmad, the UK's minister for the Middle East, had not responded to a request to confirm the number of British children being held in the Syrian camps.
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According to him, British boys are being held in appalling conditions in cells with 20 to 25 people each, poor ventilation, open latrines, and little access to food and medical care. Some juvenile detainees are housed in cells with adult males. The risks of violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, forced labour, and death are present for boys in these prisons.
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He claimed that "arbitrary and collective punishment" in the camps was a "British taxpayer-funded violation of international law," and that a change in policy was required to stop it.
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Repatriating British families is the only sane course of action for the security of the UK and the rest of the world, he continued. "Condemning British families to indefinite detention without trial is inconsistent with British values and support for the rule of law."
Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, has previously stated that "repatriation is the only durable solution" and that keeping families detained in the camps could lead to a resurgence of Daesh and pose a serious threat to international security.