Research project B2/202/P3/REGUIDE (Research action B2)
CONTEXT
Since the outbreak of the Syrian War in 2011, more than 5000 European citizens have travelled to Syria and Iraq to join the uprisings against the Syrian regime. By 2017, one third of them have returned. Belgium has the highest ratio of departees per capita. With more than 500 individuals who were present in Syria and Iraq and with a 30% return rate, Belgium has also the highest ratio of returnees per capita. The social consequences of the current phenomenon of returnees presents our country with a number of challenges in the field of justice, security, integration and democracy. EU member states (MS) use divergent criminal justice, penitentiary, security and societal approaches vis-à-vis returnees. Existing research suggests that policies which overemphasize the use of hard measures fail to offer solutions that lead to a successful reintegration of returnees and their families and therefore to a sustainable security.
OBJECTIVES
REGUIDE aims to develop a holistic, restorative and gendered approach towards reintegration of returnees into the Belgian society. To reach this goal, REGUIDE discerns the following specific objectives.
Objective 1. To create a multidisciplinary and multi-stakeholder Living Lab of expertise on returnee reintegration (RELAB);
Objective 2. To develop holistic knowledge on returnee reintegration in Belgium;
Objective 3. To develop a sustained restorative approach to returnee reintegration based on restorative, educational, and participatory interventions;
Objective 4. To develop a set of tools and recommendations for LEAs and other practitioners and policy makers;
Objective 5. To share the project results and activities at the local, regional, national and European level, to increase the visibility of the project and of the BELSPO funding in tackling the pressing societal challenge of returnees.
METHODOLOGY
REGUIDE will be developed over the course of 4 years (48 months). By using a variety of methodologies such as ethnography, discourse/legal/content analysis, arts- based and action research and interdisciplinary research based on law, criminology, social psychology, political sciences and gender studies, the project is designed around 9 work packages, as visualised in the Pert diagram. WP1 aims at creating a Living Lab of expertise on returnee reintegration at the national level. WP2, WP3, and WP4 aim at building knowledge and evidence by providing analysis and evaluation on returnee reintegration at multiple levels: media, political debates, policies and programmes, and legal and judicial practices. WP5 and WP6 aim at developing a Sustained Restorative Approach (SRA) for returnees, social work and child protection organisations and LEAs (prison and probation). WPX deals with Coordination and Management. WPY deals with Data Management. WPZ aims at Valorising, Disseminating, and Exploiting knowledge in order to maximise the impact of the project at the national and policy making levels.
IMPACT
The project is of great relevance to Belgium and Europe, which has been faced with returnees in consecutive waves since 2013. When taken together with the securitization of the issue of returnees, there is an apparent incompatibility between the European legal systems’ ability to tackle such perceived or real threat, and the possible side effects such repressive measures could generate by creating a new generation of “radicals”. The reintegration of returnees therefore represents an important societal challenge for European societies in general and Belgium in particular.
The development of knowledge-based and sustainable solutions for returnees and their families as well as for Belgian society is an essential condition to tackle this societal challenge.
REGUIDE will support prisons and probation, and other practitioners, policy makers, returnees and their families, and Belgian society with knowledge and knowledge-based solutions towards creating a context of sustainable peace and security. More specifically, REGUIDE is expected to have a real and lasting impact at three different levels:
1. At the macro-level, it will support the Belgian policymakers and federal institutions with knowledge-based recommendations that will have a significant impact both on their preventive and criminal justice policies.
2. At the meso-level, it will support the Belgian prison and probation system, practitioners and civil servants responsible for addressing the needs of male and female returnees by developing knowledge-based tools, guidelines, and training.
3. At the micro-level, it will empower male and female returnees and their families towards achieving a fulfilling personal, professional and civic life, by building personal capacity and developing restorative and educational support trajectories.
A Holistic, Restorative and Gendered approach to Guide Returnees to their Home Country (REGUIDE) : State of art
Lechkar, Iman - Fadil, Nadia - Detry, Isabelle ... et al Brussels : Belgian Science policy, 2023 (SP3240)
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