As such, boys and girls associated with or affected by FTF travel and return present a host of protection concerns for the international community. Children and young adults are also affected by the criminal, administrative and other measures discussed in this document. They can be affected both indirectly, when their parents or other family members are targeted, and directly, as the same measures are also applied to children and young adults suspected or convicted of FTF activity at home or abroad.248 While recognizing the need for the social support of children, such as posttrauma counselling, and other assistance, UN Security Council Resolution 2396 (2017) specifically calls upon states to assess and investigate suspected FTFs and their accompanying family members, including children. Collection of information for the purpose of carrying out risk assessments, surveillance or to place individuals on watch lists and exchange information between states are likely to result in invasive interferences with children’s privacy and other rights. Whether directed against themselves or their parents and other family members, those and other measures to counter FTF-related threats and challenges may also directly or indirectly affect children’s rights to freedom of expression and religion or belief, family life, social security, education, equality and non-discrimination and can have wide-reaching, long-term implications for the full range of children’s civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is the most widely ratified human rights convention, with almost universal ratification by 196 states parties.249 The cardinal principle reflected in the CRC, and across international and regional standards, is that the primary focus should be on acting in the “best interest of the child”.250 However, in practice, as noted by the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI), in counter-terrorism the focus appears to have shifted towards children being potential threats. This approach risks neglecting the “best interest of the child”.251 The emphasis on potential threats posed by child returnees (i.e., child FTFs and children associated with FTFs) in discussions about the reverse flow of FTFs appears to confirm 248  Some reports suggest that FTFs got younger over time; see for example: L. van der Heide and J. Geenen, “Children of the Caliphate: Young IS Returnees and the Reintegration Challenge”, International Centre for Counter-Terrorism, August 2017, <https://icct.nl/publication/children-of-the-caliphate-young-is-returnees-and-the-reintegration-challenge/>. 249  The CRC explicitly guarantees all of the above mentioned rights to children and other human rights instruments, which contain those rights, equally apply to children. OSCE participating States have decided to accord particular attention to the recognition of the rights of the child, including the civil rights and individual freedoms and the economic, social and cultural rights of the child; see “Document of the Copenhagen Meeting of the Conference on the Human Dimension of the CSCE”, adopted by the representatives of the participating States of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE/OSCE) on 29 June 1990, para 13. With reference to the CRC, OSCE participating States have also committed “to actively promote children’s rights and interests, especially in conflict and post-conflict situations”; see “Istanbul Summit Declaration”, adopted by the Sixth OSCE Summit of Heads of State or Government on 19 November 1999, para. 28. 250  Article 3(1) CRC. According to Article 1 CRC children are defined as persons under 18 years of age unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier. 251  “Children and counter terrorism”, United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI), 2016, p. 77, <www.unicri.it/in_focus/files/Children_counter_terrorism.pdf>. Guidelines for Addressing the Threats and Challenges of “Foreign Terrorist Fighters” 69