16-17 February 2016

The conference built on the CJ-ROL Working Group plenary meeting, on 13-14 April 2015 in Valletta, Malta, where Switzerland proposed to add Juvenile Justice to the Working Group’s work plan, and on the first Juvenile Justice experts meeting held in Malta, on 10-12 November 2015, that led to a draft “Neuchâtel Memorandum on Good Practices for Juvenile Justice in a Counterterrorism Context.”

The objective of the meeting was to bring together a small group of experts and GCTF Working Group Co-Chairs representatives (with a background in prosecution, adjudication, detention, and reintegration) in order to review and edit the draft Neuchâtel Memo. The meeting also provided the opportunity to discuss cross-cutting considerations of how juvenile justice is relevant for addressing the lifecycle of radicalization to violence and the FTF phenomenon.

Key themes of discussion included:

• The need of grounding the Draft Memorandum on the already existing international legal framework.

• A whole of government and community-based approach is pivotal to prevent radicalization/stigmatization of children and to effectively implement reintegration programs.

• The challenge of better monitoring and evaluation phases for diversion, rehabilitation and reintegration programs.

• The interconnection of the Memorandum on Good Practices for Juvenile Justice in a Counterterrorism Context with other GCTF activities and documents.