[Book launch] Geopolitical uncertainty, (in)secure borders, and the 'foreign terrorist fighters' phenomenon

Once seen as an 'acute and growing' security threat featuring prominently in news reports and public discussions, a decade on, references to the foreign terrorist fighter (FTF) phenomenon rarely appear on the front pages these days. With ISIS seemingly defeated and the security risks they posed abated, transnational institutional and public attentions have shifted elsewhere. The transformative impact of the international, regional and national legal, policy and operational measures undertaken to disrupt and mitigate the activities and pre-empt the travel of alleged FTFs continues to have an effect even today.   

The transnational nature of the FTF phenomenon created a messy labyrinth of legal obligations at the international, European, and domestic levels. To dissect this multi-layered counter-terrorism architecture, researcher Tarik Gherbaoui’s upcoming book on 'Europe’s Foreign Fighter Conundrum - Legal Responses, the Rule of Law, and Human Rights' analyses the intricate interplay between legal norms at these different levels, with a special focus on prosecution and citizenship deprivation. In addition to highlighting the core themes of the book, researcher Rumyana van Ark, the discussant for the book, will also reflect on the very pressing humanitarian challenges that remain.  

Thousands of almost forgotten individuals are still held in the al-Hol and Roj camps; approximately 3800 of those are European nationals from over 35 different countries many of whom are children. Conditions in the camps have been consistently described as ‘dire’ and 'appalling'. Repatriating these individuals is the 'only durable solution' to the security and humanitarian challenges posed by conditions in the camps and  the best means to reduce ISIS resurgence in the region. In this context, researcher Zsofia Baumann will present on the Foreign Terrorist Fighters (FTF) Knowledge Hub, an open-access online resource charting states' responses to the FTF phenomenon developed by the T.M.C. Asser Instituut and the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism (ICCT).

Speakers: 

• Dr Rumyana van Ark 
• Dr Tarik Gherbaoui 
• Zsofia Baumann