UN-backed meeting agrees on measures against jihad-bound citizens
The two-day meeting, attended by foreign and interior ministers from 15 countries and some 200 security experts, was focused on finding ways to stem the flow of radicalized citizens traveling to join wars in the Middle East.
“We call upon states to propose creative ideas and new approaches for developing legal tools to further counter terrorism, including the phenomenon of Foreign Terrorist Fighters, in line with obligations under international law,” said a joint statement after the meeting.
The meeting was called after the UN Security Council requested urgent measures by members to find a solution to the growing numbers of radicalized youth from Western countries signing up for jihads.
The meeting agreed that “foreign terrorist fighters increase the intensity, duration and intractability of conflicts, and also may pose a serious threat to their states of origin, the states they transit and the states to which they travel.”
It added that “neighbouring zones of armed conflict in which foreign terrorist fighters are active” are affected by serious security burdens.
The meeting called upon UN member states to “develop legislative, judicial, law enforcement and other relevant measures to establish efficient and effective international cooperation efforts against the phenomenon of foreign terrorist fighters.”
The statement also called on the international community to “pay particular attention to the financing, facilitation, and travel tradecraft used by foreign terrorist fighters.”
They also urged all States to consider listing individuals, groups, undertakings, and entities associated with Al-Qaida that are financing, arming, planning, or recruiting for them. These include the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL), Boko Haram, al-Nusrah Front, and Ansar al Sharia.
Spain, which sits this year on the UN Security Council, has arrested several people over the past months for trying to recruit fighters and brides for the Islamic State. Others were arrested for planning terrorist attacks or trying to join ISIS in Syria.
Hundreds of European fighters have joined the ISIS in Syria and Iraq. This year, many European countries passed anti-terrorist legislation to tackle the terrorist group.
Experts put the number of foreign fighters in Syria and Iraq at 25,000 or 30,000 people. In Spain, the Spanish Interior Minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz, said 126 nationals o residents from Spain have travelled to the areas in conflict, while other 25 have returned back.