International Conference On Terrorist Rehabilitation

INAUGURAL ADDRESS
Inaugural Address
truly reformed. That is why in Singapore, Mr. Shanmugam
said, released detainees continue to attend a rehabilitation
programme that aims to inoculate them against radical ideas.
The Minister for Law and Second Minister for Home Affairs,
Mr. K. Shanmugam, delivered the inaugural speech.
Addressing an audience of 200 participants from 20
countries, Mr. Shanmugam praised Singapore’s holistic
rehabilitation efforts that incorporate the psychological,
social and religious aspects of rehabilitation. Since its
implementation, two-thirds of Singapore’s terrorist detainees
who were arrested since 2001 have been reportedly
released after rehabilitation. So far, none have strayed
back into terrorism. Mr. Shanmugam noted that those who
have been released have re-integrated well into society.
Mr. Shanmugam noted that the authorities in Singapore
would continue to remain alert to the threat. Mr.
Shanmugam also stressed that there could be no onesize-fits-all
solution that would be effective across
the globe, thus the need for closer cooperation and
coordination. Mr. Shanmugam expressed hope that the
conference will facilitate such cooperation in an arena of
combating terrorism that holds much promise. He hoped
that the ideas and strategies shared at the conference
would germinate in time into effective and practical
solutions that would assist in challenges of the future.
Mr. Shanmugam thanked the International Centre
for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR)
at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
and the Religious Rehabilitation Group (RRG) for coorganizing
the conference. He said that this cooperation
was an example of how different segments of society
can and must collaborate in countering terrorism.
Mr. Shanmugam described the conference as timely
since rehabilitation is a critical part of counter-terrorism.
However, he believed that it is an area that has not received
the necessary attention. Mr. Shanmugam highlighted that
one major challenge to current rehabilitation efforts is the
lack of foolproof measures to assess if a terrorist has been
Mr. Shanmugam further added that ICPVTR is an
international academic hub that provides cuttingedge,
action-oriented research on terrorism and
security issues. The RRG, on the other hand, is a group
of volunteer religious teachers and scholars involved
in counselling terrorist detainees in Singapore and
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THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON TERRORIST REHABILITATION