Between March and June, former Islamic State fighters arrested in criminal Ghweran in the northeastern Syria city of Hasakah rebelled 3 times, taking sections of the criminal. According to some media reports, the riots are due not only to the frustration of inmates with their long-standing legal limbo, but also to dissatisfaction with overcrowded situations and unsanitary situations. Concerns about these situations have only been exacerbated by the arrival of the new coronavirus and COVID-19, the respiratory disease it causes, in the region.
A second, broader legal argument is that the United States has legal responsibilities under the common Article 1 of the Geneva Conventions, which requires States Parties to “commit to respect and enforce “IHL” in all circumstances, to provide assistance in a manner that facilitates compliance with IHL through SDF. As the International Court of Justice has observed, this means that, whether or not a Contracting State “is a party to an express conflict, [has] the legal responsibility to ensure” compliance with IHL. Thus, to the extent that the United States is aware of the SDF’s illegal detention practices, on which existing situations are undoubtedly based, the United States will have to “do everything within [its] authority to achieve some compliance” with IHL. SDF and end IHL violations.
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