Repatriated Foreign Terrorist Fighters and their Families: European Experiences & Lessons for P/CVE

Returning Foreign Terrorist Fighters and their families continue to be one of the most discussed and pressing concerns in the European P/CVE sphere and at the international level. According to the United Nations Security Council, terrorist organizations such as Al-Qaida, Daesh and associated groups have attracted in recent years over 30,000 FTFs from over one hundred Member States. In November 2019, Members of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) issued an open letter which urged European Member States to immediately begin a program of managed repatriation of ISIL foreign fighters in Syria, highlighting security risks and the need to reduce the potential of child radicalization and engagement in political violence. To date, States continue to experience a strong set of unprecedented challenges concerning legal, ethical and practical questions with respect to their obligations and capabilities of handling of children of FTFs still abroad and child returnees already on EU soil. 

Guest speaker 

Anita Peresin, EU Radicalisation Awareness Network