About the Initiative
The Middle East Institute (MEI), in partnership with the International Center for the Study of Radicalization (ICSR) at King’s College London, is spearheading a high-level initiative aimed at resolving a major security and humanitarian crisis that resulted from the territorial defeat of ISIS in Syria in 2019. Since then, the U.S. and local Syrian partners have been holding more than 9,000 ISIS fighters in 26 makeshift prisons and 45,000 associated family members in secured camps – all representing more than 55 different nationalities.
Impact
Since 2022, MEI and ICSR’s convenings have directly shifted the dialogue regarding safe and secure repatriation and have been credited, including by the State Department, as playing a central role in policy shifts towards new and increased repatriation efforts around the world. As a result of these meetings, several countries that previously denied the presence of their nationals in the al-Hol and al-Roj camps shifted their rhetoric to not only admit that they had citizens in the camps, but also take steps to begin repatriation.
Highlight
In March 2023, due to the impact of this initiative, MEI’s Syria and Counterterrorism Program Director Charles Lister was invited by CENTCOM Commander General Erik Kurilla (pictured) to travel with him to northern Syria. They visited the U.S. military’s primary base in Rumeilan, the al-Roj and al-Hol camps, as well as Ghweiran Prison to assess the situation and discuss policy options for the U.S. and its partners.
Spotlight: Where is ISIS in 2024?
Ten years after the founding of the 87-country Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, where does the Islamic State currently operate? Charles Lister, director of MEI’s Syria and Countering Terrorism and Extremism Programs, discusses how the organization has changed, and the strategies needed to counter its increasing complexity.
Past Meetings & Conferences
"Resolving the Detainee Crisis: What Next for the Men, Women & Children of Islamic State," held October 20, 2023, in Washington, D.C.
The Detainee Dilemma Initiative has brought together nearly 30 governments along with the United Nations, International Committee of the Red Cross, humanitarian aid and human rights groups, and subject matter experts for a series of closed-door sessions for much needed debate, brainstorming, and negotiation. These high-level meetings have also run in parallel with public conferences which seek to educate general audiences on the gravity of the detainee dilemma.
What Experts Say
Regional experts and policy practitioners share praise for the Detainee Dilemma Initiative as an important platform for discussing the human rights challenges linked to the detention situation and to push forward actionable recommendations.
