Forum on Returning Foreign Fighters

WORKSHOP SESSION

Co-hosted with
The United Nations Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) & The Global Research Network

30 October 2018
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The Forum on Returning Foreign Fighters is a collaborative international effort to bring together key stakeholders working on the issue of foreign fighters. Governments are at the forefront of dealing with this challenge, and their citizens’ safety remains their number one concern. However, for progress to be sustainable, the response must be comprehensive and addressed by the whole of society.

Little about the trajectory of terrorism is predictable, especially in a world in flux. One certainty is that terrorism will continue to be amongst the most pressing international security challenges for years to come. The extent to which those who have left the conflicts in Iraq and Syria will wish to regroup, resurge, recruit and recreate what they have lost is yet to be determined. There is disagreement over the threat that returning foreign fighters may present to their countries of residence or origin, or to other countries they transit through or seek temporary refuge in. However, it is inevitable that those who wished to fight alongside or otherwise support terrorist groups, especially the…

so-called Islamic State (IS), will remain committed to the form of violent jihad that both al-Qaeda and the Islamic State have popularized, within and outside the Muslim world. The Forum on Returning Foreign Fighters provides an opportunity for researchers, public officials, policymakers, diplomats, academics, practitioners and top intelligence, military, and law enforcement professionals, to come together with governments in order to solidify the network of those working to address the foreign fighter phenomenon and its effects on vulnerable communities and global security.

Key objectives of the forum are to share information and best practices and set a robust research agenda to identify current shortcomings and fill critical knowledge gaps. Most importantly, as governments are struggling to create effective policies and work together collaboratively to implement responses designed by international bodies, the conference will serve as a platform to address the ways in which various efforts, notably UNSCR 2178 and UNSCR 2396, can be operationalized within and across nation states.
Key Speakers

KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY
His Excellency Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs
State of Qatar
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FIRESIDE CHAT WITH
His Excellency Panos Kammenos
Minister of National Defence
Greece

With New York Times, Pulitzer Prize Winner Charlie Savage
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Panelists & Moderators
Ian Acheson, FRSA
Ian Acheson, FRSA

Director of National Security Programmes

Sampson Hall

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Fionnuala Ni Aolain
Fionnuala Ni Aolain

United Nations Special Rapporteur

Protection and Promotion of Human Rights while Countering Terrorism

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Maj. Gen. Abdul Aziz al-Ansari
Maj. Gen. Abdul Aziz al-Ansari

Chairman of National Counter-Terrorism Committee

State of Qatar

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Richard Barrett
Richard Barrett

CMG OBE

The Global Strategy Network

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Peter Bergen
Peter Bergen

CNN National Security Analyst and Vice President Global Studies & Fellows

New America

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Jason Blazakis
Jason Blazakis

Professor

Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey

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Mia Bloom
Mia Bloom

Professor of Communication

Georgia State University

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Daniel Byman
Daniel Byman

Vice Dean and Professor, School of Foreign Service

Georgetown University

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Fabrizio Carboni
Fabrizio Carboni

Director for Near and Middle East

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

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Colin P. Clarke
Colin P. Clarke

Senior Research Fellow

The Soufan Center

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Steve Clemons
Steve Clemons

Editor at Large

The Atlantic

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Faisal Mohamed Al-Emadi
Faisal Mohamed Al-Emadi

Executive Director of Programs

Silatech

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Joshua A. Geltzer
Joshua A. Geltzer

Former Senior Director for Counterterrorism and Deputy Legal Advisor

National Security Council

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Bobby Ghosh
Bobby Ghosh

Journalist and Commentator

Bloomberg

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Karen J. Greenberg
Karen J. Greenberg

Director, Center on National Security

Fordham Law

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Dr. Rohan Gunaratna
Dr. Rohan Gunaratna

Professor of Security Studies

Nanyang Technology University

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Dr. Elisabeth Kendall
Dr. Elisabeth Kendall

Senior Research Fellow in Arabic & Islamic Studies

Pembroke College, University of Oxford

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Gilles de Kerchove
Gilles de Kerchove

EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator

European Union

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Matthew Levitt
Matthew Levitt

Fromer-Wexler Fellow & Director, Reinhard Program on Counterterrorism & Intelligence

The Washington Institute for Near East Policy

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Francesca Mannocchi
Francesca Mannocchi

Journalist and Director

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Magnus Ranstorp
Magnus Ranstorp

Research Director, Center for Asymmetric Threat Studies

Swedish Defence University

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Nicholas J. Rasmussen
Nicholas J. Rasmussen

Senior Director for Counterterrorism Programs

McCain Institute for International Leadership

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Colonel Sean Ryan, U.S. Army
Colonel Sean Ryan, U.S. Army

Spokesman

Combined Joint Task Force-Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR)

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Linda Robinson
Linda Robinson

Senior International & Defense Researcher

RAND Corporation

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Eric Rosand
Eric Rosand

Director

The Prevention Project

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Charlie Savage
Charlie Savage

Washington Correspondent

The New York Times

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Irfan Saeed
Irfan Saeed

Director, Office of Countering Violent Extremism Bureau of Counterterrorism

& Countering Violent Extremism (CT)

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David Scharia
David Scharia

Chief of Branch

Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directive (CTED)

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Lawrence Wright
Lawrence Wright

Staff Writer

The New Yorker

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Tarik Yousef
Tarik Yousef

Director

Brookings Doha Center

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Location

SHERATON GRAND DOHA
RESORT & CONVENTION HOTEL
Al Corniche Street, P.O. Box 6000, Doha, Qatar
For more information, please contact

events@thesoufancenter.org
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