Foreign Terrorist Fighters (FTF) Working Group

Co-chaired by Jordan and the United States, the Foreign Terrorist Fighters (FTF) Working Group addresses the ongoing and salient challenges presented by the FTF phenomenon. The Working Group was established following an initiative led by the former FTF Working Group Co-Chairs, Morocco and the Netherlands in 2014.

The Working Group provides a critical platform for developing practical initiatives to help coordinate and build on efforts at the national-, regional- and international-levels to stem the flow of FTFs and address the complex issues related to their return. The FTF Working Group initiatives are guided by the GCTF The Hague-Marrakech Memorandum on Good Practices for a More Effective Response to the FTF Phenomenon | Arabic | French (The Hague-Marrakech Memorandum), other Framework Documents, the Working Group’s work plan, as well as UN Security Council Resolution 2178 (UNSCR 2178) and 2396 (2017).

The Working Group is also leveraging other existing GCTF materials, including elements of the GCTF's Initiative to Address the Lifecycle of Radicalization to Violence and the Border Security Initiative among others.

The current areas of focus of the FTF Working Group are inter alia:

To support the practical implementation of The Hague—Marrakech Memorandum and of the obligations outlined in UNSCR 2396, in 2019-2021, the FTF Working Group focuses its activities across the five priority areas set forth below. These are not listed in rank order; rather they are intended to allow for flexibility within the Working Group to allow for adaptation as FTF trends change and provide a roadmap for the Working Group and GCTF activities. These priority areas will be revisited and revised at the annual Plenary Meetings of the FTF Working Group:

  • Watchlisting – Develop and Promote the Effective Use of Watchlists.
  • Information Sharing – Improve coordination and cooperation of information sharing within and between governments.
  • Border Control – Improve cooperation within existing structures, tools, and mechanisms to strengthen and enhance border control and border management as related to FTFs.
  • Returnees – Through workshops, trainings, and the development of good practices, bolster capacity to assess, monitor, rehabilitate and reintegrate returnees, including families of foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs).

The GCTF FTF Working Group was established in 2014, and until September 2017 Co-Chaired by Morocco and the Netherlands. In September 2017, GCTF Members decided that the activities of the former GCTF Detention and Reintegration (DR) Working Group will be integrated into the three thematic GCTF Working Groups. The GCTF DR Working Group was active between 2014 and September 2017.

Explore the activities of the GCTF Working Groups here.