A/HRC/46/36 policymaking) and the failure to address the equal rights of sexual minorities or differently constituted family units in the context of “gendering” counter-terrorism. She notes in particular the deployment of “gender” language by United Nations and regional counterterrorism entities, with no concurrent commitment to address human rights violations committed in the name of countering terrorism or extremism against sexual minorities. 28. The Special Rapporteur is concerned about the extension of militarized and carceral counter-terrorism approaches into areas such as domestic violence regulation. She affirms the need for a whole of society approach to addressing misogyny and complementary hypermasculinities across State and non-State settings.100 She particularly notes her disquiet in the increasing suggestions that preventing and countering violent extremism should integrate “evidence on individuals perpetrating violence against women or domestic violence needs”,101 which is problematic both conceptually and practically. Effective legal sanction and nuanced social responses to intimate partner violence will not be well-served by securityled intrusions into women’s lives or by institutions and actors whose practices embody and entrench the patriarchal and masculinist status quo. She encourages United Nations entities to avoid superficial analysis and programming, affirming the necessity of a holistic approach to the manifestations of multiple masculinities among both terrorism and counter-terrorism actors. 29. The Special Rapporteur is profoundly concerned about the securitization of care services by counter-terrorism actors. She has documented the ways in which comprehensive approaches to countering and preventing violent extremism involve a range of actors that traditionally interact directly with – and therefore have implications for – the family. 102 Alongside the intelligence service, the police and other security actors we now find youth care workers, social workers, mental health services personnel, educators and medical personnel who have independent professional and ethical responsibilities to those they serve. The impacts on families, particularly marginalized families, from securitizing front-line care and intervention are significant in terms of the quality of care they receive and the stigma and harm that results from being treated as security threats rather than individuals and families with needs and rights. From a human rights perspective, the infringements particularly undermine the guarantee of equality and non-discrimination both within and between families.103 When that type of intervention disproportionality affects families from particular ethnic, religious or racial groups, heightened scrutiny of State action is all the more necessary. 30. The Special Rapporteur has consistently held that the urgent return and repatriation of foreign fighters and their families from conflict zones is the only international law compliant response to the complex and precarious human rights, humanitarian and security situation faced by those women, men and children who are detained in inhumane conditions in overcrowded camps, prisons or elsewhere in Iraq and the Syrian Arab Republic. Their return is a comprehensive response that would amount to a positive implementation of Security Council resolutions 2178 (2014) and 2396 (2017) and take into consideration States’ longterm security interests. She highlights the leadership and positive actions of those that have undertaken large-scale returns, including Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Tunisia and Uzbekistan and Kosovo.104 She affirms their openness and the engagement of Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation with her mandate on the matter. The impact on families of the conditions in the camps is profound. The human rights costs to children are devastating. The existence of the camps is a blight on the conscience of humanity. 31. The Special Rapporteur affirms that significant work has been undertaken to address the human rights of victims of terrorism.105 Nonetheless, significant gaps exist in national 100 David Duriesmith, Masculinity and New War: The Gendered Dynamics of Contemporary Armed Conflict (Routledge, 2017). 101 Melissa Johnston and Jacqui True, “Misogyny and violent extremism: implications for preventing violent extremism”, report for UN-Women (2019). 102 See A/HRC/40/52/Add.5. 103 See UN-Women, “A contemporary view of “family”. 104 References to Kosovo shall be understood to be in the context of Security Council resolution 1244 (1999). 105 See General Assembly resolution 72/165. 15