What We're Reading

February 2020 | The Reintegration Imperative: Child Returnees in the Western Balkans

This month, RESOLVE highlights recommended readings from our latest policy note. In “The Reintegration Imperative: Child Returnees in the Western Balkans” Adrian Shtuni explains the need for long-term, proactive solutions to address the youthful demographics of foreigners linked to the Syrian conflict. The policy note provides recommendations for policymakers to rehabilitate and reintegrate child returnees in the Western Balkans based on existing good practices and the guiding principles of international law on the rights of the child. To enhance the policy note, Mr. Shtuni suggests further readings on child recruitment and terrorist exploitation, children in terrorist organizations in Iraq and Syria, and child rehabilitation and reintegration.

 

On Child Recruitment and Exploitation by Terrorists

Bloom, Mia, with John Horgan. Small Arms: Children and Terrorism. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 2019.

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Handbook on Children Recruited and Exploited by Terrorist and Violent Extremist Groups: The Role of the Justice System. Vienna: UNODC, 2017. https://www. unodc.org/documents/justice-and-prison-reform/Child-Victims/Handbook_on_Children_Recruited_ and_Exploited_by_Terrorist_and_Violent_Extremist_Groups_the_Role_of_the_Justice_System.E.pdf.

On Children Associated with Terrorist Organizations in Syria and Iraq

Cook, Joana, and Gina Valle. “From Daesh to ‘Diaspora’ II: The Challenges Posed by Women and Minors After the Fall of the Caliphate.” CTC Sentinel 12, no. 6 (July 2019): 30-45. (Jul 2019) https://ctc.usma. edu/daesh-diaspora-challenges-posed-women-minors-fall-caliphate/.

On Child Rehabilitation and Reintegration

Meines, Marije, Merel Molenkamp, Omar Ramadan, and Magnus Ranstorp. RAN Manual: Responses to Returnees: Foreign Terrorist Fighters and their Families. Amsterdam: Radicalisation Awareness Network (RAN) Centre of Excellence, 2017. https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/sites/homeaffairs/files/ ran_br_a4_m10_en.pdf.

The Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF). Good Practices on Addressing the Challenge of Returning Families of Foreign Terrorist Fighters. GCTF, 2018. https://www.thegctf.org/Portals/1/Documents/Framework%20Documents/2018/…. pdf?ver=2018-09-25-101427-323.

United Nations. Key Principles for the Protection, Repatriation, Prosecution, Rehabilitation and Reintegration of Women and Children with Links to United Nations Listed Terrorist Groups. United Nations, 2019. https://www.un.org/counterterrorism/ctitf/sites/www.un.org.counterterro… Principles%20-%20April%202019_0.pdf.

United Nations Office of Counter-terrorism (UNCCT). Children Affected by the Foreign-fighter Phenomenon: Ensuring a Child Rights-based Approach. New York: UNCCT, 2019. https://www.un.org/counterterrorism/ctitf/sites/www.un.org.counterterro….

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Roadmap on the Treatment of Children Associated with Terrorist and Violent Extremist Groups. Vienna: UNODC, 2019. https://indd.adobe.com/ view/61793921-8dc6-4fc2-9e46-b27c6390fff2.

van der Heide, Liesbeth, and Jip Geenen. Children of the Caliphate: Young IS Returnees and the Reintegration Challenge. The Hague: International Centre for Counter-terrorism – The Hague, 2017. https://icct. nl/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/ICCT-vanderHeide-Geenen-Children-of-the-Caliphate-2.pdf.

On Challenges Faced by Practitioners Working with Child Returnees

Radicalisation Awareness Network (RAN). Child Returnees from Conflict Zones. Amsterdam: RAN Centre of Excellence, 2016. https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/sites/homeaffairs/files/what-we-do/ne… awareness_network/ran-papers/docs/issue_paper_child_returnees_from_conflict_zones_112016_en.pdf