In this project, we look at how counter-terrorism measures in the UK - from policies aimed at preventing atrocities, to those aimed at rehabilitating people convicted of terrorism offences - are impacting children’s rights. We have started by building relationships with organisations working on this issue, submitting evidence to national and international bodies, and publishing our first report on the UK’s prevention strategy, Prevent. Our overall goal is to end the violation of children’s rights for counter-terrorism purposes in the UK.
Why are we working on this project?
The most effective approach to countering political violence is to tackle the human rights violations (poverty, discrimination, conflict) that cause it to flourish, rather than to abuse human rights further in search of ‘security’. But in recent decades governments have instead opted for policies that violate human rights, and disproportionately the rights of children, in the name of ‘fighting terrorism’.
The UK has adopted particularly hardline policies towards children in the context of counter-terrorism, such as preventing the return of British citizens recruited as children or born to those recruited by the so-called Islamic State, leaving them stuck in Syria and Iraq. Its approach has also been influential internationally; other countries have modelled their prevention policies on the UK’s much-criticised Prevent Strategy, for example.
Why now?
These policies are being shaped now. For example, the Government has commissioned an ‘Independent Review’ of Prevent, and decisions are being made regarding the response to children returning from Syria and Iraq. By contributing our child rights expertise, we have an opportunity to work with others in the field to influence these legal and policy decisions and shape the impact of counter-terrorism measures on children for years to come.
This UK-focused project follows up on CRIN’s international work for a rights-based approach to counter-terrorism measures affecting children, especially at the UN and the Council of Europe, for example by contributing to the UN’s Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty. We also worked with an international group of NGOs - the Child Justice Advocacy Group - to release a position paper on child returnees from ISIL-controlled areas, and produced an international survey of counter-terrorism measures and how they impact children.
What do we want to achieve?
Our overall goal is that the UK government adopt a human rights-compliant approach to counter-terrorism measures affecting children. Specifically, we would like to see:
The discriminatory and securitised Prevent Strategy repealed. It must be replaced with a prevention policy which is genuinely focused on safeguarding children from recruitment and exploitation by armed groups, rather than on surveillance and policing of their lawful activity.
UK law and policy to recognise that children recruited or groomed by armed groups are victims of grave human rights abuses, and so the primary focus should be on children’s rehabilitation and reintegration. In the exceptional case that children are prosecuted for ‘terrorism offences’, diversionary and restorative justice practices must be prioritised over custodial measures.
The UK to adopt a child rights compliant approach to children returning from Iraq and Syria.
What have we done so far, and how?
Since the start of our UK-specific project in 2020, we have invested time in building relationships with others organisations working on counter-terrorism in the UK. We also produced resources and reports to hold the UK government accountable.
We compiled a guide to help researchers, policymakers and practitioners quickly get to grips with what’s out there and easily access resources focused on rights-based responses.
We have recently published a report assessing how the UK’s prevention policy is impacting children’s rights: the first part of our body of work looking at the full spectrum of counter-terrorism measures.
We joined an informal network of civil society organisations working on Prevent, which we have helped to develop into a vehicle for collective work as ‘A Community Counter to Prevent’.
Advocating for the repatriation of children from north-east Syria
We jointly formed a new NGO coalition on repatriation of citizens from north-east Syria, to enable us to coordinate our advocacy with key parliamentary groups, including the Home Affairs Committee, Foreign Affairs Committee and the newly formed All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Trafficked Britons in Syria.
Following serious concerns about the person appointed to lead the ‘Independent Review’ of Prevent (including a public record of Islamophobic comments), we joined a civil society boycott of the Review, and participated instead in an alternative, civil society-led review of the policy (the People’s Review of Prevent, coordinated by the organisation Prevent Watch).
We produced an accessible FAQ resource explaining Shamima Begum’s Supreme Court case and the decision, which we shared with policymakers and journalists.
What has the impact been so far?
Working in partnership is very important to this project, so we see any impact as collectively achieved. We believe the coalition-building and collective work we have been involved in has led to a more united civil society voice on Prevent and on repatriation, and our evidence has allowed national and international bodies to more effectively scrutinise the impact of UK counter-terrorism policies on children.
Our joint boycott gained media attention and is raising awareness of the flaws in the government-commissioned review of Prevent, which will help to contest its conclusions (which we expect to further entrench negative impact on children).
We have played a key role in developing the informal civil society network on Prevent into the public coalition ‘A Community Counter to Prevent’ (launched in February 2022), which enables the many organisations campaigning against the policy to pool efforts and work together more effectively.
Following our submission and others, the Committee on the Rights of the Child included some strong questions on counter-terrorism measures in its List of Issues for the UK, setting the stage for scrutiny of this issue in the upcoming Review.
The report of the Inquiry by the APPG on Trafficked Britons in Syria used our written evidence in its assessment of the UK's responsibility to bring an end to British children’s detention in North-East Syria, and its analysis of the UK’s policies of family separation and citizenship deprivation.
Related areas of focus
Support the campaign now!
Related content: Counter-terrorism, Child returnees, A-Z of children’s rights issues