Spotlight: Terrorism & Radicalization
Building Resilience
Building Resilience
Terrorism & Radicalization
Strengthening the capacities of Kosovan Institutions in the post-release phase of violent extremists

Project aiming at improving the Kosovan Probation Services (KPS) capacities in managing the post-release phase of former Foreign Terrorist Fighters coming back from Syria and Iraq.

This project aims at strengthening the capacities of Kosovo Probation Services (KPS) in managing the post-release phase of those jihadi radicalized individuals who are conditionally released or under probation. Despite the great progress Kosovo has achieved in terms of repatriation and disengagement of violent extremists and FTFs, one of the major challenges that the country faces today is the substantial lack of knowledge and capacities of Kosovan Probation Services (KPS) in dealing with the risk of relapse of radicalized individuals. So far, investments and capacity building programs have mainly targeted the early phases of disengagement and reintegration of former violent extremists, while less attention has been paid to the post-release phase and the risks it entails, such as lack of monitoring, marginalization by the community, stigma and discrimination. The importance of this part of the process of disengagement has been hence overly underestimated and, as a consequence, Kosovan Probation Services do not have the tools to manage it properly.

Therefore, the objective of this project is to enhance the preparedness, knowledge and capacities of the Kosovan Probation Services and the other stakeholders involved in programs of resocialization and monitoring of former radicalized individuals.

This objective is based on three pillars: • the integration of specific training programs designed to provide a deeper understanding of the phenomenon of radicalization and violent extremism; • the necessity of more comprehensive rehabilitation and reintegration programs specifically tailored to every individual; • the development of specific monitoring tools to assess and measure whether and to what extent individuals risks a relapse during the reintegration and resocialization program. • the essential cooperation between Kosovo and Italy over best practices of Probation Services as a mean to strengthen security and safety in Kosovo.