The detention of children of Islamic State within Kurdish-controlled camps in Syria presents a complex dilemma for national authorities and the international community. Although a small number of states have repatriated their nationals, overall, little progress has been made and thousands of children continue to languish in deplorable conditions. Resolution has been urged from both humanitarian and international security perspectives, but Western states, in particular, have sought to avoid responsibility, often using legal mechanisms to impede repatriation efforts. This article asks whether international legal frameworks can provide a route to resolution. It argues that by centralizing the international law and policy on children’s rights, repatriation becomes the priority rather than domestic political and security objectives. Conceptual light is shed on the ways in which international human rights law standards can be mobilized for the protection of conflict-affected children as individual rights holders.
During the war with Islamic State in northern Iraq (2014–17), a notable number of Kurdish women joined the Peshmerga (Iraqi-Kurdish fighters), the military forces of the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) in an effort to prevent Islamic State’s advance into the oil-rich city of Kirkuk. Besides causing international resonance, the presence of women fighters was publicized by the KRG as a sign of modernity and gender equality. However, once the war ended, in the peace negotiations between the KRG and the Iraqi central government, the role of Kurdish women was drastically reduced. By examining the events that took place in Kirkuk before and after Islamic State and the diplomatic follow-up, this article analyses the role of women in a war to peace transition, focusing specifically on the power-sharing process to ensure that their effective and equal participation in decision-making is respected. The article provides an insight into respect for international human rights law, management of gender equality and the role of women in legal and political systems against the backdrop of the clash over Kirkuk and a complex power-sharing process in post-war Iraq.
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