The mission of United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is to contribute to the achievement of security and justice for all by making the world safer from crime, drugs, and terrorism. In the context of global counter-terrorism, UNODC is mandated to provide assistance to requesting countries in their efforts to address the legal and criminal justice aspects of countering terrorism.
There are several trends that can be observed regarding terrorism in the last few years. First of all, terrorist attacks have increasingly targeted private citizens. While the total number of deaths as a result of terrorist attacks rose by 80 per cent between 2013 and 2014, the deaths of civilians increased by 172 per cent during that same period. Further, Boko Haram and Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh) were jointly responsible for 51 per cent of all claimed global fatalities in 2014.
The foreign terrorist fighters (FTF) phenomenon is a growing threat to many countries. The flow of FTF into Iraq and Syria continued in 2014 and 2015 and it is estimated that between 25,000 and 30,000 FTF have arrived to Syria and Iraq since 2011.
Reports identify South-Eastern Europe (SEE) as one of the main sources of FTF, along with Western Europe and the Middle East. Features common to people leaving Western Balkan countries for Syria and Iraq include links to diasporas in the EU, particularly in Austria and Germany; pre-departure criminality; poor education; unemployment; dysfunctional or broken families; and mental health issues. With regard to motives, individuals often attempt to escape something—unhappy marriages, domestic violence, debt, criminal prosecution, alcohol and drug abuse—or seek something, such as a spouse, an adventure, or belonging and purpose in life through religion. The average age of FTF from the Western Balkans in Syria and Iraq is 31 for males and 30 for females. When compared to other European countries, more women (36 per cent among Bosnians and 27 per cent among Kosovars, which is almost double the European average), are joining men travelling to Syria and Iraq. Compared to the European average, women and children (non-combatants) make up far more (up to 55 per cent) of the Western Balkan people going to Syria and Iraq.
Given the cross-border nature of the threat and the similarity of the problem in different States, cooperation among countries in SEE is crucial to ensure that the threat is ontained. To that end, UNODC undertook a project in the region, covering Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo (under United Nations Security Council resolution 1244), the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia. The project addresses the complex and interrelated challenges posed by the FTF threat to the criminal justice systems of these States. One of the most important outputs of the project is an FTF training module that will be utilized by judges and/or prosecutors and incorporated into existing training courses delivered by national training institutes.
The United Nations Security Council, acting under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, adopted resolution 2178 on 24 September 2014. This resolution requires States to, inter alia, ensure that they have in place laws that permit the prosecution of: a) FTF, b) those who wilfully fund or receive funds to finance the travel of FTF and c) those who wilfully facilitate the travel of FTF. It further calls upon States to enhance international, regional and sub-regional cooperation to prevent and suppress the phenomenon of FTF, including to prevent the travel of FTF from or through their territories. This legal instrument, together with other relevant international and regional legal instruments, provides the basis for the development of this manual.
The Government of the United States of America generously provided UNODC with funding for the above-mentioned project, which led to the publication of this manual. The project built upon ongoing cooperation with Member States from the region relating to the development of an effective and a sustainable legal regime against FTF, based on the rule of law, due process, and human rights. In the course of the project, the UNODC team collaborated closely with the following institutions: School of Magistrates of Albania (Tirana); Judicial Academy of Serbia (Belgrade); Academy for Judges and Public Prosecutors “Pavel Shatev” (Skopje); Centre for Judicial and Prosecutorial Training of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Sarajevo); Centre for Judicial and Prosecutorial Training of the Republika Srpska (Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina); Judicial Commission of the Brčko District (Brčko District, Bosnia and Herzegovina); Academy of Justice (Pristina); and Judicial Training Centre of Montenegro (Podgorica). The team visited and interviewed judges, prosecutors and managers in the region, and trainers of the aforementioned judicial institutes. The discussions revolved around issues such as the type of terrorism and FTF related training currently provided, the extent and the nature of the FTF problem in the region, challenges of investigations, prosecutions and adjudication of FTF cases.
These discussions revealed four specific areas in which additional expertise is needed. They are:
• The extent, structure and dynamics of the FTF phenomenon;
• The elements of the FTF-related offences;
• Investigation of the FTF offences, with special regard to online and financial investigations;
• Human rights implications of the investigation and adjudication of FTF-related cases.
This manual will address the first three issues. The human rights aspect has already been covered in the Counter-Terrorism Legal Training Curriculum Module 4 on Human Rights and Criminal Justice Responses to Terrorism of the UNODC.
