A/HRC/45/31 trial, and had been either convicted or acquitted, with 1,600 detainees awaiting judicial processes.82 78. Regarding juvenile justice, the self-administration reported that, in June 2020, 110 children between 12 and 18 years of age were present in the Houri Rehabilitation Centre, 83 on the basis of their association with ISIL. The Centre was reportedly full at the time of finalization of the present report. While the Commission welcomes the granting of access to the Centre to United Nations child protection partners, 84 it notes the importance of adherence to fair trial and juvenile justice standards. 85 Interviewees involved in judicial processes reported that representatives were not allowed access to the children during interrogations in which confessions were induced, and lawyers were only appointed once charges had been filed by prosecutors. Moreover, numerous detainees reported that children were also held in other detention facilities, including the Allaya and Hasakah prisons. The majority of these children had also been accused of affiliation with ISIL or had been recruited by Syrian Democratic Forces/Kurdish People’s Protection Units and accused of offences including spying. Adults released from these facilities reported that children were held in the same cells as adults at certain periods. It was not clear whether these children had been charged with any offence. Recruitment of children 79. In a welcome development, 51 girls from 13 to 17 years of age were removed from the ranks of Women’s Protection Units in early 2020 and were housed in a “rehabilitation centre”. Eighteen boys were also in the process of being formally released at the time of reporting.86 The Commission welcomes the commitments and releases made by the Syrian Democratic Forces.87 At the same time, it documented six accounts of the recruitment and use of boys, and two of girls, by the Syrian Democratic Forces-affiliated Kurdish People’s Protection Units/Women’s Protection Units. A number of incidents of initial recruitment predate the start of the reporting period, however the violation was ongoing in 2020. One 15-year-old boy was recruited by elements of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units in northern Aleppo in October 2019. Subsequently, the father received phone calls from people claiming to be from the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, telling him to stop looking for his son. In another instance, a girl was recruited at the age of 14 by the Women’s Protection Units in 2016. In April 2020, the family received a phone call from elements of the Women’s Protection Units claiming that the girl had committed suicide. The family was provided with a death certificate with scant details about the cause of death. The family requested an investigation into her death, as they doubted the Women’s Protection Units’ version of events. Findings 80. The Commission finds that there are reasonable grounds to believe that members of the Syrian Democratic Forces and related entities may have committed the war crime of cruel treatment and ill-treatment of those deprived of liberty in military intelligence facilities.88 The Commission also has reasonable grounds to believe that in holding tens of thousands of individuals in Hawl camp and its annex, the majority of them children, for 18 months with no legal recourse, the Syrian Democratic Forces have held these individuals in inhuman conditions.89 The self-administration has communicated with the Commission and highlighted its assessment of the potential security threat posed by those in camps, however 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 According to a non-public submission. A/HRC/43/57, para. 98. A/74/845-S/2020/525, para. 181. United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice, rule 7.1; and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 14. A/74/845-S/2020/525, para. 181. Ibid., and see https://sdf-press.com/en/2020/07/military-instructions-issued-by-the-general-commandof-the-syrian-democratic-forces/. ICRC rules 156 and 90. A/HRC/40/70, para. 92. 17