PREVENT: The Lifecycle of Child Terrorism in Al-Shabaab

In its effort to promote a strategic, long-term approach to prevent and counter terrorism and the violent extremist ideologies that underpin it, the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF) has launched an initiative on juvenile justice in a counterterrorism context to address the emerging questions regarding children involved in terrorism, and the different phases of a criminal justice response, which include prevention, investigation, prosecution, sentencing, and reintegration. GCTF’s Initiative to Address the Life Cycle of Radicalization to Violence (Life Cycle Initiative) and its Memoranda (Neuchâtel Memorandum) recognized the need to prevent violent extremism through a comprehensive strategy grounded in international law and human rights. Critical to such strategy, the need to understanding the conditions conducive to and effectively addressing the recruitment of children, and their potential radicalization to violence.

With an aim to help close existing knowledge gaps and inform responses as underlined by the GCTF ś Life Cycle Initiative and the Neuchâtel Memorandum as well as by several experts, states, and agencies, Next Wave is developing a research portfolio that identifies systemic issues and factors driving children into terrorist and violent extremist groups. Through PREVENT, Next Wave introduces new methods of creating a thorough understanding of the challenge of terrorism and violent extremism involving children, which will further help to ensure awareness of the threat and violence against children (VAC) at the hands of terrorist and violent extremist actors, allowing for better discussion, approaches to prevention and resource allocation.

The Lifecycle of Child Terrorism in Al-Shabaab.pdf

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