Integrating radical fighters who return home isn’t easy, but can be done

The report recommends that countries should realize the vast majority of Syrian refugees and others are victims of terrorism. They must not be regarded as potential suspects. It also calls on states to respect migrants’ fundamental rights and warns that attempts to snub asylum seekers or detain migrants are a violation of human rights and international refugee law. Emmerson warned that operations to stop migration may also increase the risk of attacks in Europe.

This suggests the vital need for strategies that address issues of migration and refugees, and the risks that returning foreign fighters may pose.

Unlike refugees or migrants, foreign fighters returning from the conflict in Syria and Iraq are a serious security threat at home and internationally. While in the war zone, they joined terrorist networks, adopted techniques like suicide bombings and beheadings, and set up ties with other jihadists around the globe.

Different countries have different mitigating factors that limit the danger. The presence of tough and focused security services is particularly important. Several countries in Africa and Europe have developed an individual risk management and analysis for returnees. These people are categorized according to the duration they spent in the war zone, what they did there and their goal after their return.

Criminal trials are favored in most European and African countries for dealing with returnees. But trials don’t usually result in convictions; evidence against the returnees is often lacking.

This shows the critical need for a comprehensive approach that gets local authorities and social partners involved. These could include, for example, Child Protection Services, Social Services and the health sector.

Strategies to combat the risks
North African nations must decide how to handle returnees.

Tunisia has around 2,400. The country has poor rehabilitation processes and policies in place. Morocco had an estimated 1,500 citizens fighting in Syria and Iraq as of October 2015. Some returnees have been jailed, but the country still needs to develop an effective strategy to deal with others.

Some decision makers seem to feel that returnees will always be terrorists who present a permanent threat to national security. But a dialogue is necessary with the returnees. They must be retrained and reintegrated into their own societies.

To make reintergration feasible, the government must take an all-inclusive approach. This would entail including returnees’ families, neighborhoods and local communities in the process. It also requires partnership with government, schools, universities, civil society organizations, and the private sector.

Deradicalization and reintegration
The deradicalization of (former) terrorists or extremists can be viewed as a process geared at ensuring their reintegration into society in a way that minimizes the chances they will resort to terrorism-related activity.

Reintegration plans must therefore be flexible and tailored to an individual’s specific background and motives.

The deradicalization program, which combines education with anti-violence training, is an attempt to disentangle the individual’s sense of hatred from his or her political vision of the world and address both the motives behind their hate sentiments. It also aims to reintroduce them to democratic values and peaceful ways of expressing their feelings and viewpoints.

Numerous reintegration programs are already underway in Tunisia, Morocco, and many European countries. Most cover a range of activities such as religious and psychological counselling, vocational skills training, education and recreation.

Reintegration programs should include both deradicalization and disengagement-based efforts. Deradicalization, which emphasizes erasing violent ideologies from extremists’ minds, is very crucial. But it should be considered one of many possible options through which to limit the possibilities of recidivism.

In this context information sharing, as well as social media monitoring relevant to conflict zones, is of paramount importance.

More research initiatives should be carried out in close cooperation with policy makers and experts. This will enable the successful reintegration of terrorists and extremists in society.

Finally, there is a need for an optimistic environment to send a clear message of hope to migrants, refugees, youth and communities. Governments should continue building relations with them, gaining their trust – and deriving intelligence.

Moha Ennaji is Professor of Linguistics, Gender, and Cultural Studies, International Institute for Languages and Cultures. This article is published courtesy of The Conversation (under Creative Commons-Attribution / No derivative).