The importance of the Council of Europe’s 24/7 Network of Contact Points on Foreign Terrorist Fighters
Source:
Connections: The Quarterly Journal,Keywords:
24/7 Network, Additional Protocol, Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism, Council of Europe, European Counter Terrorism Center, Europol, exchange of information, foreign terrorist fighters, UN Resolution 2178Abstract:
The article focusses on the Council of Europe 24/7 Network of Contact Points on Foreign Terrorist Fighters envisaged in article 7 of the Additional Protocol to the Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism adopted on 22 October 2015. The Protocol supplements the 2005 Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism and it entered into force on July 1, 2017. The Protocol addresses the imminent security threat originating from “foreign terrorist fighters” (FTFs) who are returning to their countries of origin or are trying to relocate in third countries as a result of Daesh’s military defeat and collapse. Those ‘returnees,’ i.e, FTFs and their families, pose a tremendous challenge with no easy solution for law-enforcement agencies and societies across Europe, and combatting the menace requires full compliance with international law.