this shift.252 While the agency of children should not be denied, and the range of roles they play should be recognized and addressed, responses must be informed by an understanding of the rights and interests of the child, taking into account the context and implemented in a manner that is consistent with human rights and humanitarian law. Citizenship and Return States should not deprive children of citizenship given the profound impact this would have on the protection of their rights (as noted in section 3.4), and should take all feasible measures to ensure that children are not rendered stateless.253 Children seeking to return to states with which they have substantial links should be enabled to do so.254 The range and gravity of threats that children associated with FTFs are facing abroad underscores the importance of ensuring that those seeking to return should be allowed to do so.255 The announcement by some OSCE participating States that young children, at least, could return, is a good practice that should be built on and implemented.256 There are considerable practical obstacles that may impede the ability of children to return. For example, reports indicate that children born abroad in territory that was controlled by ISIL often lack any valid birth certificate or registration.257 It is often difficult to establish paternity, particularly where parents have died or are in detention. Many children and those accompanying them also lack travel documents, making it difficult for them to leave and seek support. States should be conscious of and pragmatically address practical impediments, such as the lack of documentation, which may impede access to protection or the assertion of citizenship by children. Decisions on the 252  UNSC Resolution 2396 (2017) for its part emphasises the diverse roles that children can play, and notes they may be victims and require assistance, but also emphasises the security concerns. 253  Article 8 CRC provides that state parties have to respect the right of children to preserve their identity, including nationality. 254  Whether those children come within the jurisdiction of the state under the CRC is a relevant consideration, which should be interpreted flexibly, in favour of the child, given the extreme stakes for the children in question. 255  The rape, enslavement, trafficking, sexual and other abuse of children and young women by ISIL has been recognized in, for example, UNSC Resolution 2331 (2016). However, since the project of the “Islamic State” collapsed in Iraq, current reports also suggest that children are trapped, left orphaned and/or unprotected, in abysmal conditions in IDP camps, that children are subjected to flagrantly unfair prosecutions leading to, inter alia, the death penalty, and scores of children of all ages are being held in detention in Iraq; see for example: “At least 100 European ISIS fighters to be prosecuted in Iraq; most facing the death penalty”, the Independent, October 2017, <www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/isis-foreign-fighters-iraq-prosecuted-death-penalty-families-mosul-a7987831.html>, reporting 1,400 family members being held in Mosul in late 2017. See also: “The condemned: Woman and children isolated, trapped and exploited in Iraq”, Amnesty International, op. cit., note 238. 256  For example the Belgian government reportedly decided at the end of 2017 that children under the age of 10 years with proven ties to Belgium would automatically be allowed to return, whereas the situation of children between 10 and 18 years would be decided on a case by case basis. Practical challenges in the repatriation of young children reportedly remained however, namely the requirement for families in Belgium to pick them up in IDP camps and bring them to the nearest Belgian embassy or consulate. See: T. Renard and R. Coolsaet (eds), “Returnees: who are they, why are they (not) coming back and how should we deal with them?”, Egmont Institute, op. cit., note 14, p. 38 and 74. 257  N. Houry, “Children of the Caliphate: What to Do About Kids Born Under ISIS”, Human Rights Watch, 23 November 2016, <www.hrw.org/news/2016/11/23/children-caliphate>. 70 Guidelines for Addressing the Threats and Challenges of “Foreign Terrorist Fighters”