A/HRC/28/28 adoption, time-limited laws, independent oversight bodies for law enforcement and intelligence agencies, and periodic reviews of sanction measures. The validity of any exceptional measure should be restricted in time through the inclusion of a sunset clause. The compliance of such laws with human rights standards must also be subject to regular review. 30. I welcome the dialogue held at national level that accompanies the legislative process in some States, and urge all States to ensure broad and inclusive consultation with all relevant stakeholders. The experience of previous years demonstrates the benefits of the review of draft legislation by relevant domestic bodies before adoption, in particular to ensure its consistency with relevant international human rights standards. B. Foreign fighters 31. Although the phenomenon of foreign fighters 22 is not new, a reported recent increase in their numbers and in the range of countries from which they reportedly originate, the groups they join, their motivations and subsequent trajectories have highlighted the complex nature of this issue and raised concerns across the globe. While reported facts and figures vary widely, the Security Council has expressed concern at reports that more than 15,000 foreign terrorist fighters from more than 80 countries have travelled to join or fight for terrorist entities associated with Al-Qaida, including in the Syrian Arab Republic, Iraq, Somalia and Yemen, as well as several countries in the Maghreb and Sahel regions.23 Other recent reports have highlighted instances of individuals who have travelled to join forces in fighting against such entities, for example alongside the Kurdish People’s Protection Units). 32. The brutality of the criminal acts committed in the Syrian Arab Republic and in Iraq by the takfiri, also known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) or Daesh, which have been bolstered through the support of foreign fighters, has given particular impetus to States to take measures to inhibit individuals from travelling for purposes of joining their ranks and to prevent the escalation of violence. The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic has noted the increase in experienced and ideologically motivated foreign fighters attracted by ISIL since it proclaimed itself an Islamic caliphate. According to the Commission, while thousands of Syrians have been recruited to the ranks of ISIL its leadership structure is largely dominated by foreign fighters.24 33. States have taken a wide range of administrative and legislative measures to deter individuals who have or seek to become foreign fighters. These have involved blocking the validity of travel documents, revoking citizenship, freezing financial assets and the prosecution of individuals for acts ranging from recruitment and incitement to the planning of terrorist acts. The Security Council has taken decisive action through a number of resolutions adopted under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations. In its resolution 2170 (2014), the Council condemned in the strongest terms the gross, systematic and 22 23 24 The term “foreign fighters” generally refers to individuals who leave their country of origin or habitual residence, motivated primarily by ideology or religion, and become involved in violence as part of an insurgency or non-State armed group in an armed conflict (even though they may also be motivated by payment). See Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, Foreign Fighters under International Law, Academy Briefing No.7, October 2014. S/PRST/2014/23. See also S/2014/770, para. 31. “Rule of Terror: Living under ISIS in Syria”, 14 November 2014 (available from www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/IICISyria/Pages/IndependentInternationalCommission.aspx), para. 13. 11