84 QIL 60 (2019) 69-97
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Member States to assess and investigate individuals whom they have reasonable grounds to believe are terrorists or foreign terrorist fighters, and
also to ‘distinguish them from other individuals, including their accompanying family members who may not have been engaged in foreign terrorist
fighter-related offenses’.76 Furthermore, the Resolution underlines that
‘… women and children associated with foreign terrorist fighters returning or relocating to and from conflict may have served in many different roles, including as supporters, facilitators, or perpetrators of terrorist acts, and require special focus when developing tailored prosecution,
rehabilitation and reintegration strategies, and stresses the importance of
assisting women and children associated with foreign terrorist fighters
who may be victims of terrorism, and to do so taking into account gender
and age sensitivities.’77
Finally, it is worth stressing that Resolution 2396 (2017) urges
Member States to ensure consular access to their own detained nationals,
in accordance with applicable domestic and international law, in
particular international human rights law.78 This and the other references
to international law present in the text restate the importance of
implementing all the obligations identified by the UN Security Council −
including the obligations to differentiate between FTFs and their family
members and to guarantee access to consular assistance to detained
nationals − in a way that is compatible with the wider spectrum of
relevant international commitments undertaken by UN Member States.
3.3. The law of diplomatic and consular relations
The law of diplomatic and consular relations encompasses a set of
well-established norms, of which the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic
Relations (VCDR)79 and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations
(VCCR) constitute the core.80 Both the VCDR and the VCCR (respec-
76
UN Doc S/RES/2396 (2017) (21 December 2017) para 4.
ibid para 31.
78
ibid preamble and para 6.
79
VCDR (adopted 18 April 1961, entered into force 24 June 1964) 500 UNTS 95.
80
VCCR (adopted 24 April 1963, entered into force 19 March 1967) 596 UNTS 261.
77