Upon the establishment of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in 2014, more than 40,000 foreign terrorist fighters from 110 countries traveled to join the conflicts in Syria and Iraq. The subsequent territorial defeat of the group in 2019, prompted the current dilemma about what should be done with the nearly 70,000 foreign ISIS fighters and their family members, mostly women and children, who are now held in Al-Hol and Al -Roj camps in Northeastern Syria. Most states have been quite reluctant to repatriate their nationals from the region, despite having an international law obligation to do so.

This panel discussion has been organized in the framework of the Geneva Peace Week-2021. The event aims to outline and assess the repatriation, rehabilitation, and reintegration efforts undertaken by Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan, who have collectively facilitated the return of over 1300 nationals to the region. Through this panel discussion, we aim to explore the experiences and good practices of states in the region and identify the emerging evidence of good practices and the early successes reported.

The event has been organized jointly with NGO Fight for Humanity based in Geneva.