Toespraak van minister Koenders bij Foreign Terrorist Fighters Working Group

Toespraak | 08-06-2015

Ladies and gentlemen,

Thank you all for joining us. A strong turnout like today's reflects the importance of our discussion. The Foreign Terrorist Fighters (FTF) Working Group − part of the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF) − clearly meets the demand identified by the Netherlands and Morocco. Working together in a unique partnership, we launched the GCTF initiative almost two years ago. And earlier this year, the working group was established to provide an informal, action-oriented platform for sharing practical steps that GCTF members and non-members are taking to address the issue of foreign terrorist fighters.

Our group focuses on countering violent extremists today and averting terrorism tomorrow. Preventing today’s thinkers from becoming tomorrow’s fighters is one side of the coin. The other is deterring potential fighters from carrying out terrorist attacks – at home and abroad.

We've come here today to discuss a phenomenon that affects an ever growing number of countries around the world. Terrorism isn't something happening in faraway countries we know nothing about. It involves individuals from most − if not all − of the countries represented here in this room, including my own, the Netherlands.

Twenty thousand foreign terrorist fighters have crossed borders and oceans at will. Twenty thousand and counting. That’s why the GCTF and the international cooperation between members and non-members are so vital. Because just as the threat we face crosses borders and oceans, so too must our response.

And in our response we should neither be guided by obsessions, nor should we fall into naiveté. In contrast with the extremists that we fight, we act in clear recognition of the moral and legal borders set by the rule of law and human rights. And we do so taking due account of the dilemma's posed by the demands for security and privacy. Finding the proper balance isn't easy, but I'm convinced that the two aren't mutually exclusive.

At the last UN General Assembly, the Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution 2178 against foreign terrorist fighters, supporting global efforts to counter violent extremism. This resolution was the start of a strong effort made by the global community to combat the threat of foreign terrorist fighters. The message was clear: we need concrete action and measures, also in the area of intelligence sharing, so we can take the necessary steps to fight international terrorism.

The upcoming UN General Assembly will re-examine the progress and impact of international efforts to stem the flow of foreign terrorist fighters, to prevent the recruitment, radicalisation and financial support of foreign terrorist fighters and to deal with their situation on their return. We will have to demonstrate clear progress. Have we succeeded in making our societies safer and less vulnerable to FTF threats? And do we know exactly what impact this threat will have in the years ahead?

I ask you to consider these questions during your deliberations today. By the end of the day you will need to have come up with concrete targets and a concrete approach for the future. We’ve got the words, now it’s time for action: action that doesn’t just focus on repressive measures. Preventing radicalisation in our own countries, cooperating with partners in achieving the same aim, addressing root causes are equally important, if not more.

Among the many examples, allow me to highlight the partnership of the Netherlands with Indonesia. We work together not only in supporting the victims of terrorism. We are also creating a channel for disgruntled Foreign Terrorist Fighters for sharing their views and experiences with local communities, convincing them to turn away from the path towards radicalism. These and other initiatives are numerous and will only benefit from meetings like ours. We must combine our efforts, sharing information on root causes, on our projects, on their successes as well as their failures. Only then can we learn and improve, prevent and eventually eradicate.

One aspect that we tend to overlook is the opportunity to address root causes through our development cooperation programmes. There is much to gain from making our development programmes more sensitive to countering violent extremism (CVE) and to make CVE responses more aware of development cooperation experiences. I welcome the discussion at the margins of the recent GCTF CVE plenary in London about this topic. As for the Netherlands, in addition to what we do at home, the Dutch government has allocated an additional 42.6 million euro for the next 5 years in support of preventive approaches abroad, in close cooperation with our partners.

The regional CVE summit in Oslo last Friday showed that combating radicalisation is a key part of our approach to counterterrorism. It underscored the importance of preventing radicalisation through building resilience through education and family support.

For me, one name stands out: Sultan Berzel. Sultan was a 19 year old student from Maastricht who travelled to Iraq in search of – as he saw it - glory and salvation. He took on the name of Abu Abdullah al-Hollandi and, in the beginning of November blew himself up at a police station in Baghdad, killing 23. I condemn this heinous act in the strongest terms. His turn to radicalism happened swiftly. It shows we need a better understanding what drives youngsters to destroy their lives and that of others; to pick up on signals and act accordingly.

Berzel is just one of the Young people in the age category between 15 and 25 that account for the vast majority of today’s foreign fighters. We need to help their families and teachers, mothers and sisters, young and old to use education as a tool for making people more resilient to the appeal of extremism.

Parents do see what’s going on with their children, but are unable to articulate their concerns, don’t know how to respond, don’t know whom to contact. In the Netherlands we’ve developed a set of tools to help educate young people and help them discuss topics that might otherwise be taboo.

We must work together with municipalities and schools to show young people that life offers them better opportunities than the destructive alternatives offered by some.

As the old song goes, we have to accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative and latch on to the affirmative.

Our Ministry of Security and Justice now has an Expertise Unit that deals with radicalisation processes. We also have a contact point for parents who have questions about radicalisation or terrorism in the broader sense. During lunch, the Mayor of The Hague will tell you more about the local approach to foreign terrorist fighters and combating radicalisation. It focuses on strengthening resilience in society by encouraging initiatives in the city that offer a counter-narrative; and by providing front line professionals with the necessary expertise.

The issue of Foreign Terrorist Fighters requires a multi-disciplinary approach. It has to take into account the many different profiles that exist, ranging from the lone wolf, via the disgruntled prisoners to the gullible teenage girls.

Tailor made approaches are called for, especially when it comes to the detention and reintegration of returning FTF’s. They are not ‘lost causes’ per se. As much as we need to understand what drove them to radicalism, we need to understand why they have returned as a risk of great danger. We will fail if our post-return treatment will only reconfirm their radical thinking. On the other hand we cannot set them free in society again; justice has to run its proper cause.

So we need to think carefully how to cope with these dilemmas in our national exit-facilities and programmes. Questions we need to ask are: Do people become more radicalised in prison? What kind of legal measures will help us deal with terrorist offenders in a transparent way? And how can we make sure these measures are carried out with full regard for our obligations under international law, rule of law and human rights?

Only through such an approach – a transparent process with a mix of reintegration and detention – we can present an alternative, an escape, for many youngsters that have not found what they have been looking for in the empty claims made by Da’esh, and are willing to return back home.

The GCTF covers all of these important issues. It enables countries to share best practices and expertise, in an open, informal and politically neutral way. It aims to mobilise expertise and resources to help address the terrorist challenges of the 21st century. The GCTF will only become more important in the years ahead. The Netherlands and Morocco have recently been appointed as the next co-chairs of the Forum. It’s both a tremendous honour and a tremendous responsibility to foster, promote and implement the work that GCTF members have delivered to date.

This requires not only political will, but also the knowledge and understanding, as well as the right capabilities and tools to help us give substance to our efforts. As future co-chairs, the Netherlands and Morocco will work with all of you − including the GCTF-inspired institutions − to identify the capability gaps and ways to fill these gaps.

The GCTF will have to step up its efforts to raise awareness and help its achievements take root in member and non-member states alike. We can do this by deepening successful cooperation, providing expertise and mobilising funds for capacity-building.

If we are to learn from each other, as a group, bilaterally and individually, we must be open. The cooperation between the Netherlands and Morocco is a good example of this mindset: when Ramadan starts next Thursday, the Netherlands will have the pleasure of welcoming 45 imams from Morocco. The imams will visit mosques around the country, talking to young people and visitors and giving workshops to Dutch imams on radicalisation and their responsibility as religious leaders.

There’s no need to reinvent the wheel. The GCTF knows many institutions that are already doing a sterling job. In particular I’d like to mention:

• Hedayah, which was established − in response to the needs of GCTF’s members − to serve as the premier international centre for expertise on countering violent extremism. Hedayah needs to be given the means to develop itself further from its base in Abu Dhabi. More academic expertise will lead to more knowledge, research, funding, projects and implementation. I want to thank the centre for raising sensitive topics and for involving religious leaders. It brought them together with counter-terrorism practitioners, policy makers and civil society during the CVE –Expo from 9-11 December. We will help them strengthen their role to prevent radicalisation.
• Then there's the International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law, of which the Netherlands is a founding member. Based in Malta, the IIJ trains members of parliament, judges and prosecutors. I was especially pleased to hear about the course that took place a few weeks ago, training members of the Dutch parliament on their role in building effective counterterrorism systems within a rule of law framework. The fact that the IIJ has trained more than 450 lawmakers, police, judges, prosecutors and other justice stake holders in one year is a clear sign of countries' needs and of the opportunities the institute offers.
• Finally, I'd like to mention the recent creation of the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF), which focuses on the preventive side of counterterrorism through resilience-building projects. In doing so it actively involves the private sector in regions where preventing radicalisation is most important. I am looking forward to the outcomes of the pilot country support mechanisms in Mali, Nigeria and Bangladesh and the subsequent identification of specific projects.

I'd also like to emphasise the importance of our work with international organisations that play a part in the fight against extremism. Organisations like the United Nations, the EU and INTERPOL are lending their assistance in several areas. I urge you to report and share any information you have on the trends and dynamics in FTF circles so that we all have a good idea of who the terrorists are, how many of them are travelling and returning, how they get recruited and which routes they use.

Let me come back to my initial question about preparing for the upcoming UN General Assembly: the Netherlands underlines the importance of providing adequate follow-up to Resolution 2178. To do so the GCTF should seek close collaboration with the established UN system, especially the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (UN CTED) and the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force (UN CTITF).

I believe that the best way to combat terrorism is for like-minded countries to work together in an UN framework, in harmony with the principles set out in the UN Charter. We need to make sure that all counterterrorism strategies are firmly rooted in international law, including human rights. Otherwise they’re doomed to fail.

This forms the basis of Dutch policy in the UN General Assembly. It will also be the cornerstone of our policy as a member of the UN Security Council, if and when the Netherlands is elected. We want to be your partner for peace, justice and development. Which is why the Kingdom of the Netherlands has put itself forward as a candidate for the UN Security Council for the 2017-2018 period.

Ladies and gentlemen, yesterday it was exactly three years ago that former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that the long-term partnership we're building through this forum will pay off for years to come. Three years after that Ministerial Plenary in Istanbul, I stand here before you to thank you for all your efforts. But I also stand here to tell you that the fight against extremism is far from over. We're on the right track, and day by day our international cooperation is strengthening our bond. Our concern, our empathy, our focus has to be universal. It cannot be selective, it cannot be self-serving. We have to stand up together.

Thank you.