Security Council resolution 2396 (2017) [on threats to international peace and security caused by returning foreign terrorist fighters]
Symbol: S/RES/2396 (2017)
Date: 2017-12-21
Status: adopted
Agenda: S/72 [31] TERRORISM
S/72 [10] INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
Subjects: UN. Security Council Committee Established pursuant to Resolution 1373 (2001) concerning Counter-Terrorism|UN. Security Council Committee Established pursuant to Resolution 1373 (2001) concerning Counter-Terrorism. Executive Directorate|UN. Security Council Committee Established pursuant to Resolutions 1267 (1999), 1989 (2011) and 2253 (2015) concerning Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Da'esh), Al-Qaida and Associated Individuals, Groups, Undertakings and Entities|UN. Office of Counter-Terrorism|Charter of the United Nations (1945). Chapter VII|FOREIGN TERRORIST FIGHTERS|TERRORISM|COUNTER-TERRORISM|INTERNATIONAL SECURITY|INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION|AVIATION SECURITY|SANCTIONS COMPLIANCE
Votes in favour: 15
Votes against: 0
Abstentions: 0
Voting record:
country: BOLIVIA (PLURINATIONAL STATE OF)
vote: yes
country: CHINA
vote: yes
country: EGYPT
vote: yes
country: ETHIOPIA
vote: yes
country: FRANCE
vote: yes
country: ITALY
vote: yes
country: JAPAN
vote: yes
country: KAZAKHSTAN
vote: yes
country: RUSSIAN FEDERATION
vote: yes
country: SENEGAL
vote: yes
country: SWEDEN
vote: yes
country: UKRAINE
vote: yes
country: UNITED KINGDOM
vote: yes
country: UNITED STATES
vote: yes
country: URUGUAY
vote: yes

               United Nations                                                                     S/RES/2396 (2017)
               Security Council                                                   Distr.: General
                                                                                  21 December 2017




               Resolution 2396 (2017)
               Adopted by the Security Council at its 8148th meeting, on
               21 December 2017

                    The Security Council,
                     Reaffirming its resolutions 1267 (1999), 1325 (2000), 1368 (2001), 1373 (2001),
               1566 (2004) 1624 (2005), 1894 (2009), 2106 (2013), 2133 (2014), 2150 (2014), 2170
               (2014), 2178 (2014), 2195 (2014) 2199 (2015), 2242 (2015), 2249 (2015), 2253
               (2015), 2309 (2016) 2322 (2016), 2331 (2016), 2341 (2017), 2347 (2017), 2354
               (2017), 2367 (2017), 2368 (2017), 2370 (2017) 2379 (2017) and its relevant
               presidential statements,
                     Reaffirming that terrorism in all forms and manifestations constitutes one of the
               most serious threats to international peace and security and that any acts of terrorism
               are criminal and unjustifiable regardless of their motivations, whenever, wherever and
               by whomsoever committed, and remaining determined to contribute further to
               enhancing the effectiveness of the overall effort to fight this scourge on a global level,
                     Reaffirming that terrorism poses a threat to international peace and security and
               that countering this threat requires collective efforts on national, regional and
               international levels on the basis of respect for international law and the Charter of the
               United Nations,
                    Emphasizing that terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism cannot
               and should not be associated with any religion, nationality, or civilization,
                    Reaffirming its commitment to sovereignty, territorial integrity and political
               independence of all States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations,
                     Stressing that Member States have the primary responsibility in countering
               terrorist acts and violent extremism conducive to terrorism,
                     Reaffirming that Member States must ensure that any measures taken to counter
               terrorism comply with all their obligations under internati onal law, in particular
               international human rights law, international refugee law, and international
               humanitarian law, underscoring that respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms
               and the rule of law are complementary and mutually reinforcing with effe ctive
               counter-terrorism measures, and are an essential part of a successful counter-terrorism
               effort and notes the importance of respect for the rule of law so as to effectively
               prevent and combat terrorism, and noting that failure to comply with these and other
               international obligations, including under the Charter of the United Nations, is one of




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               the factors contributing to increased radicalization to violence and fosters a sense of
               impunity,
                     Stressing that terrorism can only be defeated by a sustained and comprehensive
               approach involving the active participation and collaboration of all States and
               international and regional organizations to impede, impair, isolate, and incapacitate
               the terrorist threat,
                     Urging Member States and the United Nations syste m to take measures,
               pursuant to international law, to address all drivers of violent extremism conducive to
               terrorism, both internal and external, in a balanced manner as set out in the United
               Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy,
                     Recalling Resolution 2178 and the definition of foreign terrorist fighters, and
               expressing grave concern over the acute and growing threat posed by foreign terrorist
               fighters returning or relocating, particularly from conflict zones, to their countries of
               origin or nationality, or to third countries,
                     Reaffirming its call on Member States to ensure, in conformity with
               international law, that refugee status is not abused by the perpetrators, organizers or
               facilitators of terrorist acts, and that claims of political motivation are not recognized
               as grounds for refusing requests for the extradition of alleged terrorists,
                     Expressing continued concern that international networks have been established
               and strengthened by terrorists and terrorist entities among states of origin, t ransit, and
               destination, through which foreign terrorist fighters and the resources to support them
               have been channelled back and forth,
                     Acknowledging that returning and relocating foreign terrorist fighters have
               attempted, organized, planned, or participated in attacks in their countries of origin
               or nationality, or third countries, including against “soft” targets, and that the Islamic
               State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) also known as Da’esh, in particular has called on
               its supporters and affiliates to carry out attacks wherever they are located,
                    Stressing the need for Member States to develop, review, or amend national risk
               and threat assessments to take into account “soft” targets in order to develop
               appropriate contingency and emergency response plans for terrorist attacks,
                     Expressing grave concern that foreign terrorist fighters who have joined entities
               such as (ISIL), the Al-Nusrah Front (ANF) and other cells, affiliates, splinter groups
               or derivatives of ISIL, Al-Qaida or other terrorist groups, may be seeking to return to
               their countries of origin or nationality, or to relocate to third countries, and
               recognizing that the threat of returning or relocating foreign terrorist fighters includes,
               among others, such individuals further supporting acts or activities of ISIL, Al-Qaida
               and their cells, affiliates, splinter groups, and derivative entities, including by
               recruiting for or otherwise providing continued support for such entities, and stressing
               the urgent need to address this particular threat,
                     Having regard to and highlighting the situation of individuals of more than one
               nationality who travel abroad for the purpose of the perpetration, planning,
               preparation of, or participation in, terrorist acts or the providing or receiving of
               terrorist training, and may seek to return to their state of origin or nationality, or to
               travel to a third state, and urging States to take action, as appropriate, in compliance
               with their obligations under their domestic law and international law, including
               international human rights law,
                     Underlining the importance of strengthening international cooperation to
               address the threat posed by foreign terrorist fighters, including on information
               sharing, border security, investigations, judicial processes, extradition, improving
               prevention and addressing conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism, preventing

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           and countering incitement to commit terrorist acts, preventing radicalization to
           terrorism and recruitment of foreign terrorist fighters, disrupting, preventing financial
           support to foreign terrorist fighters, developing and implementing risks assessments
           on returning and relocating foreign terrorist fighters and their families, and
           prosecution, rehabilitation and reintegration efforts, consistent with applicable
           international law,
                Recognizing, in this regard, that foreign terrorist fighters may be travelling with
           family members they brought with them to conflict zones, with families they have
           formed or family members who were born while in conflict zones, underscoring the
           need for Member States to assess and investigate these individuals for any potential
           involvement in criminal or terrorist activities, including by employing evidence -
           based risk assessments , and to take appropriate action in compliance with rel evant
           domestic and international law, including by considering appropriate prosecution,
           rehabilitation, and reintegration measures, and noting that children may be especially
           vulnerable to radicalization to violence and in need of particular social support , such
           as post-trauma counselling, while stressing that children need to be treated in a
           manner that observes their rights and respects their dignity, in accordance with
           applicable international law,
                 Noting with concern that terrorists craft distorted narratives, which are utilized
           to polarize communities, recruit supporters and foreign terrorist fighters, mobilize
           resources and garner support from sympathizers, in particular by exploiting
           information and communications technologies, including through the Internet and
           social media,
                 Encouraging Member States to collaborate in the pursuit of effective counternarrative strategies and initiatives, including those relating to foreign terrorist fighters
           and individuals radicalized to violence, in a manner compliant with their obligations
           under international law, including international human rights law, international
           refugee law and international humanitarian law,
                 Calling upon Member States to improve timely information sharing, through
           appropriate channels and arrangements, and consistent with international and
           domestic law, on foreign terrorist fighters, especially among law enforcement,
           intelligence, counterterrorism, and special services agencies, to aid in determining the
           risk foreign terrorist fighters pose, and preventing them from planning, directing,
           conducting, or recruiting for or inspiring others to commit terrorist attacks,
                 Recognizing that Member States face challenges in obtaining admissible
           evidence, including digital and physical evidence, from conflict zones that can be
           used to help prosecute and secure the conviction of foreign terrorist fighters and those
           supporting foreign terrorist fighters,
                Welcoming the establishment of the UN Office on Counterterrorism (UNOCT),
           and encouraging continued cooperation on counterterrorism efforts between UNOCT,
           the Counter Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), International Civil
           Aviation Organization (ICAO), and United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime
           (UNODC), and all other relevant UN bodies, and INTERPOL, on technical assistance
           and capacity building, in coordination with other relevant international, regional and
           subregional organizations, to assist Member States in implementing the Global
           Counter Terrorism Strategy,
                Welcoming recent developments and initiatives at the international, regional and
           subregional levels to prevent and suppress international terrorism, including the UN
           Counter-terrorism Committee’s 2015 Madrid Guiding Principles, and noting the
           ongoing work of the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF), in particular its 2016
           adoption of the Hague-Marrakech Memorandum Addendum on Good Practices for a

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               More Effective Response to the FTF Phenomenon with a focus on Returning FTFs
               and its comprehensive set of good practices to address the foreign terrorist fighter
               phenomenon, and its publication of several other framework documents and good
               practices, including in the areas of countering violent extremism conducive to
               terrorism, including online, criminal justice, prosecution, rehabilita tion and
               reintegration, soft target protection, kidnapping for ransom, providing support to
               victims of terrorism, and community-oriented policing to assist interested States with
               the practical implementation of the United Nations counter-terrorism legal and policy
               framework and to complement the work of the relevant United Nations counter -
               terrorism entities in these areas,
                     Expressing concern that Foreign Terrorist Fighters may use civil aviation both
               as a means of transportation and as a target, and may use cargo both to target civil
               aviation and as a means of shipment of materiel, and noting in this regard that
               International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Annex 9 and Annex 17 to the
               Convention on International Civil Aviation, done at Chicago on Decemb er 7, 1944
               (the “Chicago Convention”), contain standards and recommended practices relevant
               to the detection and prevention of terrorist threats involving civil aviation, including
               cargo screening,
                    Welcoming, in this regard, ICAO’s decision to establish a standard under
               Annex 9 — Facilitation, regarding the use of Advance Passenger Information (API)
               systems by its Member States with effect from October 23, 2017, and recognizing that
               many ICAO Member States have yet to implement this standard,
                     Noting with concern that terrorists and terrorist groups continue to use the
               Internet for terrorist purposes, and stressing the need for Member States to act
               cooperatively when taking national measures to prevent terrorists from exploiting
               technology and communications for terrorist acts, as well as to continue voluntary
               cooperation with private sector and civil society to develop and implement more
               effective means to counter the use of the Internet for terrorist purposes, including by
               developing counter-terrorist narratives and through innovative technological
               solutions, all while respecting human rights and fundamental freedoms and in
               compliance with domestic and international law, and taking note of the industry led
               Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT ) and calling for the GIFCT to
               continue to increase engagement with governments and technology companies
               globally,
                     Recognizing the development of the UN CTED-ICT4 Peace Tech Against
               Terrorism initiative and its efforts to foster collaboration with repres entatives from
               the technology industry, including smaller technology companies, civil society,
               academia, and government to disrupt terrorists’ ability to use the Internet in
               furtherance of terrorist purposes, while also respecting human rights and fundamen tal
               freedoms,
                     Noting with appreciation the efforts of INTERPOL, to address the threat posed
               by foreign terrorist fighters, including through global law enforcement information
               sharing enabled by the use of its secure communications network, databases, an d
               system of advisory notices and procedures to track stolen, forged identity papers and
               travel documents, and INTERPOL’s counter-terrorism fora and foreign terrorist
               fighter programme,
                    Recognizing that relevant information, including information included in
               INTERPOL databases from Member States, should be shared among national
               agencies, such that law enforcement, judicial and border security officers can
               proactively and systematically use that information as a resource, where appropriate
               and necessary, for investigations, prosecutions and screening at points of entry,


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                 Recognizing that a comprehensive approach to the threat posed by foreign
           terrorist fighters requires addressing the conditions conducive to the spread of
           terrorism, including by preventing radicalization to terrorism, stemming recruitment,
           disrupting financial support to terrorists, countering incitement to commit terrorist
           acts, and promoting political and religious tolerance, good governance, economic
           development, social cohesion and inclusiveness, ending and resolving armed
           conflicts, and facilitating investigation, prosecution, reintegration and rehabilitation,
                 Reaffirming its request in paragraph 2 of resolution 2379 (2017), to establish an
           investigative team, to be headed by a Special Adviser, to support domestic efforts to
           hold ISIL (Da’esh) accountable by collecting, preserving, and storing evidence in Iraq
           of acts that may amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide
           committed by the terrorist group ISIL (Daesh) in Iraq, and recalling its invitation in
           paragraph 29 of resolution 2388 to the Secretary-General to ensure that the work of
           the Investigative Team is informed by relevant anti-trafficking research and expertise
           and that its efforts to collect evidence on trafficking in persons offences are gender -
           sensitive, victim centred, trauma-informed, rights-based and not prejudicial to the
           safety and security of victims,
                 Acknowledging that prisons can serve as potential incubators for radicalization
           to terrorism and terrorist recruitment, and that proper assessment and monitoring of
           imprisoned foreign terrorist fighters is critical to mitigate opportunities for terrorists
           to attract new recruits, recognizing that prisons can also serve to rehabilitate and
           reintegrate prisoners, where appropriate, and also recognizing that Member States
           may need to continue to engage with offenders after release from prison to avoid
           recidivism, in accordance with relevant international la w and taking into
           consideration, where appropriate, the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for
           the Treatment of Prisoners, or “Nelson Mandela Rules”,
                 Noting that some member states may face technical assistance and capacity
           building challenges when implementing this resolution, and encouraging the
           provision of assistance from donor states to help address such gaps,
                Encouraging relevant UN entities, including UNODC and UNOCT, to further
           enhance, in close consultation with the Counter-Terrorism Committee and CTED, the
           provision and delivery of technical assistance to States, upon request, to better support
           Member State efforts to implement this resolution,

           Acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations
                 1.    Recalls its decision in resolution 2178 that all Member States shall
           establish serious criminal offenses regarding the travel, recruitment, and financing of
           foreign terrorist fighters, urges Member States to fully implement their obligations in
           this regard, including to ensure that their domestic laws and regulations establish
           serious criminal offenses sufficient to provide the ability to prosecute and to penalize
           in a manner duly reflecting the seriousness of the offense, and reiterates its call on
           Member States to cooperate and support each other’s efforts to counter violent
           extremism conducive to terrorism;

           Border Security and Information Sharing
                 2.   Calls upon Member States to prevent the movement of terrorists by
           effective national border controls and controls on issuance of id entity papers and
           travel documents, and through measures for preventing counterfeiting, forgery or
           fraudulent use of identity papers and travel documents;
                 3.     Calls upon Member States to notify, in a timely manner, upon travel,
           arrival, or deportation of captured or detained individuals whom they have reasonable

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               grounds to believe are terrorists, including suspected foreign terrorist fighters,
               including, as appropriate, the source country, destination country, any transit
               countries, all countries where the travelers hold citizenship, and including any
               additional relevant information about the individuals, and further calls upon Member
               States to cooperate and respond expeditiously and appropriately, and consistent with
               applicable international law, and to share such information with INTERPOL, as
               appropriate;
                     4.    Further calls upon Member States to assess and investigate individuals
               whom they have reasonable grounds to believe are terrorists, including suspected
               foreign terrorist fighters, and distinguish the m from other individuals, including their
               accompanying family members who may not have been engaged in foreign terrorist
               fighter-related offenses, including by employing evidence-based risk assessments,
               screening procedures, and the collection and analysis of travel data, in accordance
               with domestic and international law, including international human rights and
               humanitarian law, as applicable, without resorting to profiling based on any
               discriminatory ground prohibited by international law;
                     5.     Calls upon Member States, in accordance with domestic and international
               law, to intensify and accelerate the timely exchange of relevant operational
               information and financial intelligence regarding actions or movements, and patterns
               of movements, of terrorists or terrorist networks, including foreign terrorist fighters,
               including those who have travelled to the conflict zones or are suspected to have
               travelled to the conflict zones, and their families travelling back to their countries of
               origin or nationality, or to third countries, from conflict zones, especially the
               exchange of information with their countries of origin, residence or nationality,
               transit, as well as their destination country, through national, bilateral and multilateral
               mechanisms, such as INTERPOL;
                     6.   Urges Member States to expeditiously exchange information, through
               bilateral or multilateral mechanisms and in accordance with domestic and
               international law, concerning the identity of foreign terrorist fighters, including, as
               appropriate, foreign terrorist fighters of more than one nationality with Member
               States whose nationality the foreign terrorist fighter holds, as well as to ensure
               consular access by those Member States to their own detained nationals, in
               accordance with applicable international and domestic law;
                     7.     Calls upon Member States to take appropriate action, consistent with
               domestic law and applicable international law, including human rights law, to ensure
               that their domestic law enforcement, intelligence, counterterrorism, and mil itary
               entities routinely have access to relevant information, as appropriate, about suspected
               terrorists, including foreign terrorist fighters;
                     8.   Urges that Member States consider, where appropriate, downgrading for
               official use intelligence threat and related travel data related to foreign terrorist
               fighters and individual terrorists, to appropriately provide such information
               domestically to front-line screeners, such as immigration, customs and border
               security agencies, and to appropriately share such information with other concerned
               States and relevant international organizations in compliance with international and
               domestic national law and policy; and to share good practices in this regard;
                    9.    Welcomes the approval by ICAO of the new Global Aviation Security Plan
               (GASeP) that provides the foundation for ICAO, Member States, the civil aviation
               industry, and other stakeholders to work together with the shared and common goal
               of enhancing aviation security worldwide and to achieve five key priority out comes,
               namely to enhance risk awareness and response, to develop security culture and
               human capability, to improve technological resources and innovation, to improve
               oversight and quality assurance, and to increase cooperation and support, and calls

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           for action at the global, regional, and national levels, as well as by industry and other
           stakeholders, in raising the level of effective implementation of global aviation
           security, urges ICAO, Member States, the civil aviation industry, and other relevant
           stakeholders to implement the GASeP and to fulfil the specific measures and tasks
           assigned to them in Appendix A to the GASeP, the Global Aviation Security Plan
           Roadmap, and encourages Member States to consider contributions to support
           ICAO’s work on aviation security;
                 10. Further welcomes the recognition in the GASeP of the importance of
           enhancing risk awareness and response, underlines the importance of a wider
           understanding of the threats and risks facing civil aviation, and calls upon all Member
           States to work within ICAO to ensure that its international security standards and
           recommended practices as set out in Annex 17 of the Chicago Convention and related
           to ICAO guidance material, are updated and reviewed, as appropriate, to effectively
           address the threat posed by terrorists targeting civil aviation;
                 11. Decides that, in furtherance of paragraph 9 of resolution 2178 and the
           standard established by ICAO that its Member States establish advance passenger
           information (API) systems as of October 23, 2017, that Member States shall require
           airlines operating in their territories to provide API to the appropriate national
           authorities, in accordance with domestic law and international obligations, in order
           to detect the departure from their territories, or attempted travel to, entry into or transit
           through their territories, by means of civil aircraft, of foreign terrorist fighters and
           individuals designated by the Committee established pursuant to resolutions 1267
           (1999), 1989 (2011) and 2253 (2015), and further calls upon Member States to report
           any such departure from their territories, or such attempted entry into or transit
           through their territories, by sharing this information with the State of residence or
           nationality, or the countries of return, transit or relocation, and relevant international
           organizations as appropriate and in accordance with domes tic law and international
           obligations, and to ensure API is analysed by all relevant authorities, with full respect
           for human rights and fundamental freedoms for the purpose of preventing, detecting,
           and investigating terrorist offenses and travel;
                 12. Decides that Member States shall develop the capability to collect, process
           and analyse, in furtherance of ICAO standards and recommended practices, passenger
           name record (PNR) data and to ensure PNR data is used by and shared with all their
           competent national authorities, with full respect for human rights and fundamental
           freedoms for the purpose of preventing, detecting and investigating terrorist offenses
           and related travel, further calls upon Member States, the UN, and other international,
           regional, and subregional entities to provide technical assistance, resources and
           capacity building to Member States in order to implement such capabilities, and,
           where appropriate, encourages Member States to share PNR data with relevant or
           concerned Member States to detect foreign terrorist fighters returning to their
           countries of origin or nationality, or traveling or relocating to a third country, with
           particular regard for all individuals designated by the Committee established pursuant
           to resolutions 1267 (1999), 1989 (2011), and 2253 (2015), and also urges ICAO to
           work with its Member States to establish a standard for the collection, use, processing
           and protection of PNR data;
                 13. Decides that Member States shall develop watch lists or databases of
           known and suspected terrorists, including foreign terrorist fighters, for use by law
           enforcement, border security, customs, military, and intelligence agencies to screen
           travelers and conduct risk assessments and investigations, in compliance with
           domestic and international law, including human rights law, and encourages Member
           States to share this information through bilateral and multilateral mechanisms, in
           compliance with domestic and international human rights law, and further encourages
           the facilitation of capacity building and technical assistance by Member States and

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               other relevant Organizations to Member States as they seek to implement this
               obligation;
                     14. Encourages improved cooperation between ICAO and CTED, in
               coordination with other relevant UN entities, in identifying areas where Member
               States may need technical assistance and capacity-building to implement the
               obligations of this resolution related to PNR and API and watch lists, as well as
               implementation of the GaSEP;
                     15. Decides that Member States shall develop and implement systems to
               collect biometric data, which could include fingerprints, pho tographs, facial
               recognition, and other relevant identifying biometric data, in order to responsibly and
               properly identify terrorists, including foreign terrorist fighters, in compliance with
               domestic law and international human rights law, calls upon other Member States,
               international, regional, and subregional entities to provide technical assistance,
               resources, and capacity building to Member States in order to implement such systems
               and encourages Member States to share this data responsibly among relevant Member
               States, as appropriate, and with INTERPOL and other relevant international bodies;
                      16. Calls upon Member States to contribute to and make use of INTERPOL’s
               databases and ensure that Member States’ law enforcement, border security and
               customs agencies are connected to these databases through their National Central
               Bureaus, and make regular use of INTERPOL databases for use in screening travelers
               at air, land and sea ports of entry and to strengthen investigations and risk assessments
               of returning and relocating foreign terrorist fighters and their families, and further
               calls upon Member States to continue sharing information regarding all lost and
               stolen travel documents with INTERPOL, as appropriate and consistent with
               domestic law and applicable international law to enhance the operational
               effectiveness of INTERPOL databases and notices;

               Judicial Measures and International Cooperation
                     17. Recalls its decision, in resolution 1373 (2001), that all Member States shall
               ensure that any person who participates in the financing, planning, preparation or
               perpetration of terrorist acts or in support of terrorist acts is brought to justice, and
               further recalls its decision that all States shall ensure that their domestic laws and
               regulations establish serious criminal offenses sufficient to provide the ability to
               prosecute and to penalize the activities described in paragraph 6 of resolution 2178
               in a manner duly reflecting the seriousness of the offense;
                     18. Urges Member States, in accordance with domestic and applicable
               international human rights law and international humanitarian law, to develop and
               implement appropriate investigative and prosecutorial strategies, regarding those
               suspected of the foreign terrorist fighter-related offenses described in paragraph 6 of
               resolution 2178 (2014);
                     19. Reaffirms that those responsible for committing or otherwise responsible
               for terrorist acts, and violations of international humanitarian law or violations or
               abuses of human rights in this context, must be held accountable;
                     20. Calls upon Member States, including through relevant Central Authorities,
               as well as UNODC and other relevant UN entities that support capacity building, to
               share best practices and technical expertise, informally and formally, with a view to
               improving the collection, handling, preservation and sharing of relevant information
               and evidence, in accordance with domestic law and the obligations Member States
               have undertaken under international law, including information obtained from the
               internet, or in conflict zones, in order to ensure foreign terrorist fighters who have



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           committed crimes, including those returning and relocating to a nd from the conflict
           zone, may be prosecuted;
                 21. Encourages enhancing Member State cooperation with the private sector,
           in accordance with applicable law, especially with information communication
           technology companies, in gathering digital data and evid ence in cases related to
           terrorism and foreign terrorist fighters;
                  22. Calls upon Member States to improve international, regional, and sub
           regional cooperation, if appropriate through multilateral and bilateral agreements, to
           prevent the undetected travel of foreign terrorist fighters from or through their
           territories, especially returning and relocating foreign terrorist fighters, including
           through increased sharing of information for the purpose of identifying foreign
           terrorist fighters, the sharing and adoption of best practices, and improved
           understanding of the patterns of travel by foreign terrorist fighters and their families,
           and for Member States to act cooperatively when taking national measures to prevent
           terrorists from exploiting technology, communications and resources to support
           terrorist acts, while respecting human rights and fundamental freedoms and consistent
           with their obligations under domestic and applicable international law;
                 23. Recalls its decision in resolution 1373 (2001) that Member States shall
           afford one another the greatest measure of assistance in connection with criminal
           investigations or proceedings relating to the financing or support of terrorist acts,
           including assistance in obtaining evidence in their possession necessary for the
           proceedings, and further underscores that this includes physical and digital evidence,
           underlines the importance of fulfilling this obligation with respect to such
           investigations or proceedings involving foreign terrorist fighters, while respecting
           human rights and fundamental freedoms and consistent with obligations under
           domestic and applicable international law; and urges Member States to act in
           accordance with their obligations under international law in order to find and bring
           to justice, extradite or prosecute any person who supports, facilitates, participates or
           attempts to participate in the direct or indirect financing of activities conducted by
           terrorists or terrorist groups;
                 24. Underscores the need for Member States to strengthen international
           judicial cooperation, as outlined in Resolution 2322 and in light of the evolving threat
           of foreign terrorist fighters, including, as appropriate, to use applicable international
           instruments to which they are parties as a basis for mutual legal assistance and, as
           appropriate, for extradition in terrorism cases, reiterates its call on Member States to
           consider strengthening the implementation of, and where appropriate, to review
           possibilities for enhancing the effectiveness of, their respective bilateral and
           multilateral treaties concerning extradition and Mutual Legal Assistance in criminal
           matters related to counterterrorism, and encourages Member States, in the absence of
           applicable conventions or provisions, to cooperate when possible on the basis of
           reciprocity or on a case by case basis, and reiterates its call upon Member States to
           consider the possibility of allowing, through appropriate laws and mechanisms, the
           transfer of criminal proceedings, as appropriate, in terrorism-related cases and
           recognizing the role of UNODC is providing technical assistance and expertise in this
           regard;
                 25. Calls upon Member States to help build the capacity of other Member
           States to address the threat posed by foreign terrorist fighter returnees and relocators
           and their accompanying family members, prioritizing those Member States most
           affected by the threat, including to prevent and monitor foreign terrorist fighter travel
           across land and maritime borders, and to help collect and preserve evidence
           admissible in judicial proceedings;



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                     26. Calls upon Member States to improve domestic information sharing within
               their respective criminal justice systems in order to more effectively monitor
               returning and relocating foreign terrorist fighters and other individuals radicalized to
               violence or directed by ISIL or other terrorist groups to commit terrorist acts, in
               accordance with international law;
                     27. Calls upon Member States to establish or strengthen national, regional and
               international partnerships with stakeholders, both public and private, as appropriate,
               to share information and experience in order to prevent, protect, mitigate, investigate,
               respond to and recover from damage from terrorist attacks against “soft” targets;
                     28. Urges States able to do so to assist in the delivery of effective and targeted
               capacity development, training and other necessary resources, and technical
               assistance, where it is needed to enable all States to develop appropriate capa city to
               implement contingency and response plans with regard to attacks on “soft” targets;

               Prosecution, Rehabilitation and Reintegration Strategies
                     29. Calls upon Member States to assess and investigate suspected individuals
               whom they have reasonable grounds to believe are terrorists, including suspected
               foreign terrorist fighters and their accompanying family members, including spouses
               and children, entering those Member States’ territories, to develop and implement
               comprehensive risk assessments for those individuals, and to take appropriate action,
               including by considering appropriate prosecution, rehabilitation, and reintegration
               measures and emphasizes that Member States should ensure that they take all such
               action in compliance with domestic and international law;
                     30. Calls upon Member States, emphasizing that they are obliged, in
               accordance with resolution 1373, to ensure that any person who participates in the
               financing, planning, preparation or perpetration of terrorist acts or in supporting
               terrorist acts is brought to justice, to develop and implement comprehensive and
               tailored prosecution, rehabilitation, and reintegration strategies and protocols, in
               accordance with their obligations under international law, including with respect to
               foreign terrorist fighters and spouses and children accompanying returning and
               relocating foreign terrorist fighters, as well as their suitability for rehabilitation, and
               to do so in consultation, as appropriate, with local communities, mental health and
               education practitioners and other relevant civil society organizations and actors, and
               requests UNODC and other relevant UN agencies, consistent with their existing
               mandates and resources, and other relevant actors to continue providing technical
               assistance to Member States, upon request, in this regard;
                     31. Emphasizes that women and children associated with foreign terrorist
               fighters returning or relocating to and from conflict may have served in many different
               roles, including as supporters, facilitators, or perpetrators of terrorist acts, and require
               special focus when developing tailored prosecution, rehabilitation and reintegration
               strategies, and stresses the importance of assisting women and children associated
               with foreign terrorist fighters who may be victims of terrorism, and to do so taking
               into account gender and age sensitivities;
                     32. Underscores the importance of a whole of government approach and
               recognizes the role civil society organizations can play, including in the health, social
               welfare and education sectors in contributing to the rehabilitation and reintegration
               of returning and relocating foreign terrorist fighters and their families, as civil society
               organizations may have relevant knowledge of, access to and engagement with local
               communities to be able to confront the challenges of recruitment and radicalization
               to violence, and encourages Member States to engage with them proactively when
               developing rehabilitation and reintegration strategies;


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                33. Stresses the need to effectively counter the ways that ISIL, Al-Qaida, and
           associated individuals, groups, undertakings and entities use their narratives to incite
           and recruit others to commit terrorist acts, and further recalls in this regard resolution
           2354 (2017) and the “Comprehensive International Framework to Counter Terrorist
           Narratives” (S/2017/375) with recommended guidelines and good practices;
                34. Encourages Member States to collaborate in the pursuit of developing and
           implementing effective counter-narrative strategies in accordance with resolution
           2354 (2017), including those relating to foreign terrorist fighters, in a manner
           compliant with their obligations under international law, including international
           human rights law, international refugee law and international humanitarian law, as
           applicable;
                 35. Reiterates that States should consider engaging, where appropriate, with
           religious authorities, community leaders and other civil society actors, who have
           relevant expertise in crafting and delivering effective counter-narratives, in
           countering narratives used by terrorists, including foreign terrorist fighters, and their
           supporters;
                 36. Recognizes the particular importance of providing, through a whole of
           government approach, timely and appropriate reintegration and rehabilitation
           assistance to children associated with foreign terrorist fighters returning or relocating
           from conflict zones, including through access to health care, psychosocial support
           and education programs that contribute to the well-being of children and to
           sustainable peace and security;
                 37. Encourages Member States to develop appropriate legal safeguards to
           ensure that prosecution, rehabilitation and reintegration strategies developed are in
           full compliance with their international law obligations, including in cases involving
           children;
                 38. Calls upon Member States to develop and implement risk assessment tools
           to identify individuals who demonstrate signs of radicalization to violence and
           develop intervention programs, including with a gender perspective, as appropriate,
           before such individuals commit acts of terrorism, in compliance with applicable
           international and domestic law and without resorting to profiling based on any
           discriminatory grounds prohibited by international law;
                 39. Encourages Member States, as well as international, regional, and sub -
           regional entities to ensure participation and leadership of women in the design,
           implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of these strategies for addressing
           returning and relocating foreign terrorist fighters and their families;
                 40. Encourages Member States to take all appropriate actions to maintain a
           safe and humane environment in prisons, develop tools that can help address
           radicalization to violence and terrorist recruitment, and to develop risk assessments
           to assess the risks of prison inmates’ susceptibility to terrorist recruitment and
           radicalization to violence, and develop tailored and gender-sensitive strategies to
           address and counter terrorist narratives within the prison system, consistent with
           international humanitarian law and human rights law, as applicable and in accordance
           with relevant international law and taking into consideration, as appropriate, the
           United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, or “Nelson
           Mandela Rules”;
                 41. Encourages Member States to take all appropriate actions to prevent
           inmates who have been convicted of terrorism-related offenses from radicalizing
           other prisoners to violence, with whom they may come into contact, in compliance
           with domestic and international law;


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               United Nations Efforts on Returning and Relocating Foreign Terrorist Fighte rs
                     42. Reaffirms that foreign terrorist fighters and those who finance or otherwise
               facilitate their travel and subsequent activities may be eligible for inclusion on the
               ISIL (Da’esh) & Al-Qaida Sanctions List maintained by the Committee pursuant to
               resolutions 1267 (1999), 1989 (2011), and 2253 (2015) where they participate in the
               financing, planning, facilitating, preparing, or perpetrating of acts or activities by, in
               conjunction with, under the name of, on behalf of, or in support of, supplying, selling
               or transferring arms and related materiel to, or recruiting for, or otherwise supporting
               acts or activities of Al-Qaida, ISIL, or any cell, affiliate, splinter group or derivative
               thereof, and calls upon States to propose such foreign terrorist fighters and those who
               facilitate or finance their travel and subsequent activities for possible designa tion;
                    43. Directs the Committee established pursuant to resolution 1267 (1999),
               1989 (2011) and 2253 (2015) and the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring
               Team, in close cooperation with all relevant United Nations counter-terrorism bodies,
               to continue to devote special focus to the threat posed by foreign terrorist fighters,
               specifically those associated with ISIL, ANF and all groups, undertakings and entities
               associated with Al-Qaida;
                     44. Requests the Counter-Terrorism Committee, within its existing mandate
               and with the support of Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate (CTED), to review
               the 2015 Madrid Guiding Principles in light of the evolving threat of foreign terrorist
               fighters, particularly returnees, relocators and their families, and other principle gaps
               that may hinder States’ abilities to appropriately detect, interdict, and where p ossible,
               prosecute, rehabilitate and reintegrate foreign terrorist fighter returnees and relocators
               and their families, as well as to continue to identify new good practices and to
               facilitate technical assistance, upon their request, specifically by promot ing
               engagement between providers of capacity-building assistance and recipients,
               especially those in the most affected regions, including through the development of
               comprehensive counter-terrorism strategies that encompass countering radicalization
               to violence and the return and relocation of foreign terrorist fighters and their
               families, recalling the roles of other relevant actors, for example the Global
               Counterterrorism Forum;
                     45. Further requests CTED, in coordination with UNODC and other relevant
               UN bodies, INTERPOL, and the private sector, and in collaboration with Member
               States, to continue to collect and develop best practices on the systematic
               categorization, collection and sharing among Member States of biometric data, with
               a view to improving biometric standards and improving the collection and use of
               biometric data to effectively identify terrorists, including foreign terrorist fighters,
               including through the facilitation of capacity building, as appropriate;
                    46. Requests the Committee established pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999),
               1989 (2011) and 2253 (2015) and the Counter-Terrorism Committee to update the
               Security Council on their respective efforts pursuant to this resolution, as appropriate;
                     47. Encourages relevant UN entities, including UNODC and UNOCT, to
               further enhance, in close consultation with the Counter-Terrorism Committee and
               CTED, the provision and delivery of technical assistance to States, upon request, to
               better support Member State efforts to implement this resolution;
                     48. Notes that the implementation of aspects of this resolution, especially PNR
               and biometric data collection, can be resource-intensive and take an extended period
               of time to develop and make operational, directs CTED to take this into consideration
               when assessing Member States’ implementation of relevant resolutions, and in its
               furtherance of facilitating technical assistance as requested in paragraph 47;



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                 49. Urges the Office of Counterterrorism to incorporate CTED assessments
           and identification of emerging issues, trends and developments as related to foreign
           terrorist fighters into the design and implementation of their work, in accordance with
           their respective mandates, as well as to enhance cooperation with relevant UN
           counter-terrorism entities such as CTED, UNODC, the Analytical Support and
           Sanctions Monitoring Team, and INTERPOL;
                 50. Requests the Office of Counterterrorism, in close cooperation with CTED,
           including through use of CTED country assessments, to review the UN Capacity
           Building Implementation Plan to counter the Flow of FTFs, as called for under
           S/PRST/2015/11, to ensure that the Plan supports Member States in their efforts to
           implement the priorities of this resolution, the establishment of effective API systems,
           the development of PNR capability, the development of effective biome tric data
           systems, the improvement of judicial procedures, and the development of
           comprehensive and tailored prosecution, rehabilitation, and reintegration strategies,
           further requests OCT to communicate the prioritization of these projects and any
           updates to the plan to all Member States and relevant international, regional, and sub -
           regional bodies by June 2018, and to continue incorporating CTED country
           assessments in its Plan on a routine basis, further requests OCT to develop ways to
           measure the effectiveness of these projects, and calls upon Member States, as
           appropriate, to provide the resources needed to implement these projects;
                51.   Decides to remain seized of the matter.




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