Thematic Panel 6 - Management of Foreign Terrorist Fighters (FTFs), Volunteers, and their Families

The management of Foreign Terrorist Fighters (FTFs), volunteers, and their families is a complex issue. In the past years, there has been a significant increase in repatriations from detention camps, with various countries repatriating mostly women and minors. 

The EU supports projects, knowledge exchange and capacity building to aid the rehabilitation and reintegration of FTFs and their families, including women and children. However, the return and reintegration of FTFs and their families pose serious challenges for policymakers and practitioners, as well as society at large. These challenges include global geopolitical dynamics, complex domestic policies, stigmatisation, political sensitivities, coordination across different agencies, integration of trauma-informed care, mental health issues and the potential for continued radicalisation. Effective coordination among various actors, including national authorities and local implementation partners, is crucial for the success of reintegration efforts.

The Thematic Panel on Management of Foreign Terrorist Fighters (FTFs), Volunteers, and their Families will provide a platform to network, discuss and exchange knowledge on best practices and approaches to deal with returnees and their families. It will also tackle challenges related to returnee rehabilitation and reintegration. The key objective of the Panel is to stimulate substantive dialogue among key stakeholders, civil society, researchers and private sector actors, which will lead to effective interventions on the ground.

It will address the following overarching themes:

• Emerging challenges and needs regarding the management of FTFs
• Different aspects of returnee reintegration and rehabilitation (including online dimension, gender, media and public discourse, the impact of trauma faced by all affected, role of the family, education, the use of strategic communications to support the process etc)
• Best practices and lessons learned from previous conflicts and experiences