Quarterly Updates: The Foreign Terrorist Fighters Knowledge Hub

The Foreign Terrorist Fighters (FTF) Knowledge Hub, an open-access online resource developed by the T.M.C. Asser Instituut and the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism (ICCT), has just been updated to incorporate recent developments surrounding states’ responses to foreign terrorist fighters. In doing so, the FTF Knowledge Hub continues to be an essential resource on FTFs and states’ responses to them, uniquely combining quantitative and qualitative data.

Data points were updated to reflect new developments for thirteen states, including Algeria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, France, India, Jordan, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Pakistan, Spain, and the United Kingdom. As part of this review of the Knowledge Hub, domestic policies and legal frameworks of every country page have been revised to reflect the newest developments. Comparisons between the different national approaches can be drawn by using the Policy matrix interactive tool. In addition, new readings have been added to the bottom of the country pages under “Additional resources” as well as in the Library, covering topics such as New Zealand's legislative responses to combatants and the mapping of foreign terrorist fighters' journeys. The Standards and guidance tab now contains new documents, including “Foreign Terrorist Fighters. Manual for Judicial Training Institutes, Middle East and North Africa” from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

About the FTF Knowledge Hub

The FTF Knowledge Hub is an open-access database concerning states’ responses to so-called ‘foreign terrorist fighters’, or as defined by United Nations Security Council Resolution 2178 (2014): ‘individuals who travel to a State other than their States of residence or nationality for the purpose of the perpetration, planning, or preparation of, or participation in, terrorist acts or the providing or receiving of terrorist training, including in connection with armed conflict’. The FTF Knowledge Hub contains country-specific information on 32 different states, including FTF-related data, administrative and criminal measures, as well as rehabilitation and prevention policies, and is aimed at policy makers, practitioners, academics, journalists and students. The website provides comprehensive and detailed information specifically about FTFs who have travelled to Syria or Iraq.

Provide us your feedback and suggestions

We welcome the contribution of country-specific information, relevant research or data regarding the states included in the FTF Knowledge Hub. To submit information, please fill in our questionnaire, or send it to input@foreignterroristfighters.info.

For any other questions, suggestions or feedback, please reach out to input@foreignterroristfighters.info. We review the submitted information on a regular basis.

Read more:

The Rule of Law Responses to Terrorism Programme at International Centre for Counter-Terrorism (ICCT), has compiled the Interlinkages Database a database of domestic cases in which terrorists have been tried for core international crimes. ICCT has collected domestic cases in which terrorists have been cumulatively tried for international crimes and terrorism. This means that the database does not include cases in which alleged terrorists were only prosecuted for core international crimes. Thus, this database presents a unique depository of knowledge concerning effective ways of bringing alleged terrorists to justice for the full range of crime they committed. Below is an interactive map and a radar timeline that you can use to explore cumulative prosecutions across Europe. You can learn more about the project as a whole here.