Print
See related documents
Resolution 2103 (2016)
Preventing the radicalisation of children and young people by fighting the root causes
1. The radicalisation of young people
is not a new phenomenon: children and young people, building their identity
and looking for a sense of purpose, are more likely to be attracted
to radical ideas and movements of different types (political, ideological
or religious) than people in other age groups. Some of those radicalised turn
to violence, with harmful consequences, as history has shown.
2. The phenomenon of “home-grown” radicalisation has seen a significant
increase in recent years. Young people, including many minors, sensitive
to ideological discourse and the apparent “sense of social purpose” offered
to them by radical organisations, are drawn into extremist movements
involved in violent conflict, for example in Syria and Iraq, and
carrying out terrorist acts, including in Europe.
3. The Parliamentary Assembly is very concerned about these developments.
It believes that prevention is the key solution. Preventing children
and young people from turning to extremist movements must start
at an early age when values and beliefs are formed. Prevention,
deradicalisation and rehabilitation strategies must target the individual
in his or her specific context, be comprehensive and based on multi-agency
local partnerships.
4. Hate speech, Islamophobia and discrimination against young
people of Muslim background or Muslim communities as such (including
refugees arriving in Europe) contribute to exclusion and may further
reinforce religious radicalisation of children and young people.
While the European response to terrorist activities must be provided
in a highly targeted manner by specialised agencies, notably information
services, the judiciary and law enforcement services, the endogenous
root causes should be tackled at the national and, in particular, the
local level, in the daily living environment of children and young
people. One of the main challenges is to prevent their social exclusion
from the very start to ensure that they enjoy full and equal access
to decent living standards and social rights, including education
and training. Relevant strategies need to respect human rights and
fundamental freedoms in order to avoid inciting further resentment.
5. The Assembly recognises that religious belief and faith play
extremely important roles in the lives of countless citizens throughout
the member States and add to pluralism and diversity in our society,
and in that regard it further recalls the rights enshrined in Article
9 and Article 2 of the Protocol to the European Convention on Human
Rights (ETS No. 9). The Assembly reaffirms that the right to freedom
of thought, conscience and religion is inherent to any true conception
of a democratic society. Therefore, in taking action to counter
trends of radicalisation, member States' authorities must ensure
that they respect these rights as guaranteed by the European Convention
on Human Rights (ETS No. 5).
6. In the light of these concerns, the Parliamentary Assembly
calls on the Council of Europe member States to:
6.1. as regards social inclusion
via education and training:
6.1.1. provide all children
and young people with equal opportunities, life perspectives and
a sense of social purpose, as well as perspectives for social mobility;
6.1.2. educate children and young people on democratic citizenship
and European values, including by encouraging their participation
in all decisions affecting them and give them the tools to take
a critical approach to information and to reflect carefully about
what they read and are told;
6.1.3. implement specific measures to make schools safe and free
from bullying and other manifestations of prejudice, discrimination,
segregation and all forms of violence;
6.1.4. develop the teaching of history of religious issues by
insisting on the peace-oriented dimension of religions, while raising
awareness of teachers and expanding the curriculum in this area;
6.2. as regards targeted strategies:
6.2.1. support
families of radicalised young people, as well as dedicated institutions
and civil society organisations, appoint local reference persons
and develop targeted programmes for prevention, deradicalisation
and rehabilitation purposes, by following gender-specific approaches,
so as to take account of the growing number of radicalised girls
and women;
6.2.2. develop counter-narratives based on the accounts of persons
who have left extremist or terrorist movements, notwithstanding
the responsibility of everyone in society to counter extremism;
6.2.3. offer specific training for all parties involved (law
enforcement, social workers, non-governmental organisations, families),
providing them with the tools to prevent the (further) radicalisation
of children at risk;
6.2.4. conduct public awareness campaigns and create specific
programmes for government officials to combat Islamophobia;
6.2.5. encourage religious communities to take a stronger preventive
approach, emphasising the peaceful dimension of religions, and to
develop further their activities in the field of prevention, particularly
with young people and as regards religious representations on the
Internet;
6.2.6. actively support the deradicalisation of young people
leaving extremist movements, facilitating their rehabilitation to
prevent them from being used as “multipliers” for terrorist causes;
6.2.7. implement specific programmes for young people in prisons;
6.2.8. promote multi-stakeholder partnerships building on mutual
trust, with clear “firewalls” between reporting and supporting services;
6.2.9. record, monitor and maintain reliable information and
statistics about Islamophobic hate crimes committed within the State
and make such reports publicly available;
6.3. as regards urban policies, invest in improving disadvantaged
neighbourhoods and their social infrastructure and, in particular,
ensure implementation of Committee of Ministers Recommendation CM/Rec(2015)3
to member States on the access of young people from disadvantaged
neighbourhoods to social rights;
6.4. as regards social action and dialogue more generally:
6.4.1. facilitate the dialogue between religious communities
and families to identify children and young people at risk and to
foster mutual understanding and respect between and within religions;
6.4.2. develop awareness-raising and prevention campaigns and
targeted measures against Islamophobia and other forms of hate speech
which may further reinforce vicious circles of discrimination and
mistrust between political and religious systems that fuel extremism;
6.4.3. support the work of associations of victims of terrorism
and of other civil society organisations aimed at raising awareness
of children and young people about the danger of radicalisation;
6.5. as regards safer media and Internet policies:
6.5.1. encourage
families and schools to educate children on Internet use in order
to make them aware of extremist content and critical of the manipulative
methods used by radical organisations;
6.5.2. take legal measures to combat Islamophobic and other hate
crimes, which can be fuelled by hate speech on social media;
6.5.3. fight the dissemination of radical propaganda and hate
speech via the Internet, social media and other means of communication
by reinforcing alert mechanisms;
6.5.4. prohibit by law, in accordance with Article 20 of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, any incitement
to violence, in particular through the media;
6.6. as regards law enforcement and intelligence services,
create systems to identify and facilitate the exchange of information
on radicalised persons and convicted offenders in order to monitor
their movements across European borders and prevent future crimes,
while respecting their human rights and fundamental freedoms.
7. The Assembly further invites member States to:
7.1. sign, ratify and implement,
if they have not yet done so, the Council of Europe Convention on
the Prevention of Terrorism (CETS No. 196) and its Additional Protocol
(CETS No. 217);
7.2. support and implement the Council of Europe Action Plan
on “The fight against violent extremism and radicalisation leading
to terrorism (2015-2017)”, the Guidelines for prison and probation
services regarding radicalisation and violent extremism adopted
by the Committee of Ministers in March 2016, as well as the Council
of Europe Strategy for the Rights of the Child (2016-2021) to be
launched in April 2016, which also aims to prevent the radicalisation
of children;
7.3. exchange information and good practice with regard to
the best strategies and tools aimed at preventing radicalisation,
deradicalising the young people concerned and rehabilitating returnees
from foreign conflicts and extremist organisations.
8. The Assembly urges religious leaders to enhance efforts to
prevent young people from becoming instruments of violence and terror.