charge. Each of the UK, Belgium, France, Germany, and the Netherlands have specific legal and policy frameworks in place to manage the return of women and children from the camps and the assessment, monitoring, and legal processing of returnees from Syria more generally.86 The UK Government estimates that 40% of the 900 British nationals who originally travelled to Syria to join or support ISIL have, one way or another, returned to the UK, and that ‘a significant proportion of these individuals are assessed as no longer being of national security concern.’87 States are, where necessary, able to draw upon their experiences with rehabilitation, reintegration, and risk management of terrorist offenders in, and released from, domestic prisons. A US government official interviewed by RSI noted that ‘this is not a new challenge that we’re undertaking and this has been done for decades in various conflicts. There’s a vast body of research to show that it’s very possible to do this.’ The real security threat is represented by the camps themselves. 96. The real security threat is represented by the camps themselves. Security experts harbour very serious concerns that the continued detention of women and children in the camps in North East Syria represents a long-term threat by way not only of radicalisation to violence and trauma for those housed there but also the rallying impact of the abuses there for ISIL and ISIL inspired groups worldwide. According to the UN Security Council ISIL Sanctions Committee, ‘the current improvised holding arrangements are a recipe for radicalisation to violence and despair, especially in the case of minors.’88 In the closed environment of the camps, with minimal educational or vocational opportunity or alternative stimulation, women and children are vulnerable to indoctrination from the proportion of detainees who remain committed to the ISIL cause. According to the UN Security Council ISIL Sanctions Committee, ‘the current improvised holding arrangements are a recipe for radicalization to violence and despair, especially in the case of minors.’ 97. One senior United States counter-terrorism official described the North East Syrian camps to RSI as a ‘powder-keg,’ explaining: ‘I think the question is do you deal with it now or do you wait until the situation is far worse. I think any national security professional would tell you that the situation on the ground is propitious for radicalization. It’s a situation where people are ripe for further recruiting by terrorist organisations. This is especially true for their children …’ 37 RIGHTS & SECURITY INTERNATIONAL