The international flow of foreign terrorist fighters, as recently recognized in General Assembly Resolution 68/276 and Security Council Resolutions 2170 and 2178, poses an increasingly dangerous threat to international peace and security. While not a new occurrence, the extent of the involvement of foreign terrorist fighters in conflicts and acts of terrorism today is unparalleled. With terrorist groups such as Al-Qaida, ISIL and the Al-Nusra Front all recruiting foreign nationals, the threat posed by terrorism now encapsulates not just end-target countries, but also countries of origin and transit.
The threat of individuals travelling to conflict zones, becoming further radicalized, receiving combat training, becoming involved in terrorist acts and then returning to their home countries with the aim of carrying out terrorist acts, is more serious than ever. It is essential, therefore, that the international community works together to ensure that all States have the legal and operational tools to effectively combat the threat posed by the foreign fighters.
Concerns about these trends were also raised by Member States which, in the Doha Declaration adopted at the 23th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, strove to counter the threat posed by foreign terrorist fighters, "including through capacity-building activities, such as those provided by the [UNODC], to share and adopt best practices […] to prevent the financing, mobilization, recruitment and organization of foreign terrorist fighters, to counter violent extremism and radicalization to violence, which can be conducive to terrorism, […] and to ensure that any person who participates in the financing, planning, preparation or perpetration of terrorist acts or in the supporting of terrorist acts is brought to justice, in compliance with obligations under international law, as well as applicable domestic law" (A/CONF.222/L.6, paragraph 8 (d)).
As part of these efforts, UNODC has recently launched a global initiative to support Member States in addressing the unprecedented scope and intensity of this phenomenon. The five-year initiative will help to strengthen national legislation and build the capacities of criminal justice practitioners to address the threat posed by the increasing flow of foreign terrorist fighters to and from the Maghreb, the Middle East, the European Union and the Balkan countries.
Technical assistance will focus in particular on key areas such as the investigation, prosecution and adjudication of cases; the use of intelligence as admissible evidence; the protection of witnesses; as well as countering terrorism financing; in the context of foreign terrorist fighters. The initiative will also analyse the complex and interrelated challenges posed to the criminal justice systems of Member States by the use of the Internet for terrorist purposes, including to spread violent extremism ideologies, recruit and train foreign terrorist fighters or stand-alone terrorists. In this regard, the use of efficient special investigation techniques to counter terrorist activities on the Internet will be specifically addressed.
On 18 May 2015 in Vienna the Terrorism Prevention Branch of the UNODC organized a High Level Special Event on "Strengthening Criminal Justice Responses to the Phenomenon of Foreign Terrorist Fighters". At the event, UNODC Executive Director Yury Fedotov noted that "by strengthening national criminal justice capacities as well as international cooperation to address the transnational dimension of this phenomenon, UNODC aims to help countries confront challenges including incitement to terrorism, as well as terrorist recruitment, financing and training. In this way we can seek to disrupt terrorist plans and operations before they happen".
The high-level event counted the participation of Senior Officers from Member States and international and regional organizations, as well as high-level keynote speakers, including the Vice-Minister of Interior of Iraq, the Ambassador of Morocco to the United Nations Organization in Vienna, the European Union Counter-Terrorism Coordinator, the Vice-President of EUROJUST and the Chair of the Committee of Experts on Terrorism of the Council of Europe.
Participants and panellists discussed the various issues and challenges in this area, as well as good practices and legal developments that some countries have adopted or undertaken to address this threat.