SECTION 7: Deprivation of Liberty 181. Under international human rights law, “deprivation of liberty” is defined as “any form of detention or imprisonment or the placement of a person in a public or private custodial setting which that person is not permitted to leave at will by order of any judicial, administrative or other authority.”367 Such action may include arrests, pre-trial detention, “preventive” detention or “administrative detention”.368 182. As a matter of principle, deprivation of liberty is almost never in the best interest of the child. Use of deprivation of liberty of a child should be a last resort when no other less restrictive alternatives are available and for as short a period as possible. When detention is used, it poses other serious challenges that can be harmful to children. Deprivation of liberty of children affected by the foreign fighter phenomenon, including incarceration and detention, is also likely to be counter-productive from a security perspective. Such measures can make recidivism more likely, create legitimate grievances in certain communities and reduce the likelihood of successful reintegration efforts.369 183. Some children affected by the foreign fighter phenomenon are deprived of liberty for their or their parents’ alleged association with 367 Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (2002), art. 4(2). 368 CTITF Working Group on protecting human rights while countering terrorism, Basic Human Rights Reference Guide: Detention in the Context of Countering Terrorism (2014), para. 5. 369 United Nations University, Cradled by Conflict: Child Involvement with Armed Groups in Contemporary Conflict (2018), 224; UNODC, Handbook on Children Recruited and Exploited by Terrorist and Violent Extremist Groups (2017), 98. designated terrorist groups.370 Security Council resolutions 2178 (2014) and 2396 (2017) oblige Member States to establish serious criminal offenses and to investigate and prosecute those suspected of being foreign terrorist fighters. Most individuals who are suspected of being foreign fighters face detention and prosecution in the country of conflict or upon return to their home countries. Children of foreign women are detained along with their parents or caregivers. As previously noted, many children, particularly teenage boys, have been systematically arrested and detained for their presumed affiliation with designated terrorist groups.371 Older boys are also frequently detained along with their fathers during investigations. They are exposed to harsh detention conditions, charged under anti-terrorism laws and even sentenced to capital punishment. In addition, there is an overreliance on administrative detention for children.372 There are also situations in which a large number of women associated with designated terrorist groups, along with their children, are held in detention or camps for long period of time.373 184. Given the prevalence of deprivation of liberty as a response to children affected by the foreign fighter phenomenon, the present chapter briefly summarizes relevant human rights and humanitarian principles applicable to all children deprived of liberty. The chapter also touches upon 370 A/72/865, para. 224. 371 A/HRC/40/49, para. 18; A/72/865, paras 76, 186, 224; A/73/278, para. 9. 372 UNODC, Handbook on Children Recruited and Exploited by Terrorist and Violent Extremist Groups (2017), 97. 373 A/HRC/40/70, para. 45. 83.