V. EUROPEAN STATES’ INFLUENCE, INVOLVEMENT, AND POWERS TO BRING THE DETENTION AND SUFFERING OF EUROPEAN WOMEN AND CHILDREN TO AN END 82. Under the auspices of the Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh/ISIL, formed in September 2014, 83 States, including Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK, have been cooperating militarily with the SDF in its fight against ISIL. Members of the Global Coalition have provided, and some continue to provide, military support to the SDF, including through the provision of fighter aircraft. Some members are also providing ongoing training to Iraqi and Kurdish security personnel, though it is unclear whether this is also provided to the SDF (this is the subject of ongoing research by RSI and will be addressed in further detail in the upcoming second report).58 In addition, some sources have suggested that the Global Coalition may be providing financial support directly to the SDF and/or AANES for training and to support the holding of ISIL fighters in prisons and their family members in the camps, though the extent to which this is true is not yet clear and will be the subject of further investigation ahead of publication of our forthcoming second report.59 83. Among European States, France has gone furthest in establishing explicit political links with the AANES regime.60 But the remainder of the European States participating in the Global Coalition nevertheless provide some degree of humanitarian assistance in the region, and participate in informal ‘partnerships’ with the SDF.61 The UK Government has repeatedly expressed its commitment to assisting the SDF. On 14 January 2019, then Secretary of State for Defence, Gavin Williamson, stated ‘I am continuing discussions … to ensure that we do everything we can to continue to support the SDF,’62 and on 24 February 2020, the Minister of State for the Foreign Office, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, repeated that ‘we … regard the SDF very much as a partner in this fight.’63 A report in The Times by journalist Anthony Lloyd, who visited the camps in late October 2020, confirmed that he saw British Special Forces present on the ground in the Roj camp speaking with camp authorities. 84. In addition, RSI’s sources on the ground have revealed that most, if not all, of the European States the subject of this report have had, and some continue to have, a presence in the camps, either military, diplomatic, police, and/or intelligence.64 Often this is denied by those States when questioned. For example, in response to a parliamentary question on the subject, the UK Minister of State for the Foreign Office, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, stated on 16 November 2020 that ‘Her Majesty’s Government does not have any presence in al Hol and Al [sic] Roj internally displaced persons camps in north-east Syria.’65 This is directly contradicted by a report in The Times by journalist Anthony Lloyd, who visited the camps in late October 2020 and confirmed that he saw British Special Forces present on the ground in 33 RIGHTS & SECURITY INTERNATIONAL