confinement with their mothers; at other times children are left alone in the tents to fend for themselves. 3. The German Government has the sole ability to end the arbitrary detention of their nationals. The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (‘AANES’) has made repeated requests for foreign States to repatriate their nationals and has made clear that they will not release German nationals unless and until Germany repatriates them. 4. The German Government’s policy on repatriation of its nationals detained in al Hol or Roj camp currently consists of (a) repatriation of especially vulnerable children and (b) consular law granting Germans the right to rely on a “system” of support is being challenged in court because this is deemed not applicable in Syria due to the lack of consular offices there. To date, Germany has repatriated seven children and one woman from the camps (three children and their mother were repatriated on 22 November 2019, four children were repatriated on 19 August 2019). 5. Contrary to what has been stated by some German politicians, repatriation of all their nationals from al Hol and Roj camps is logistically possible and does not pose an insurmountable safety risk to German officials. This is evidenced by the fact that some repatriations have already been carried out both by Germany and other foreign States, including throughout the pandemic. RSI’s research has revealed that Germany, like a number of European States, has had a presence on the ground in the camps (diplomatic, intelligence, and/or military). Germany has an ongoing relationship with the SDF as part of the Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh/ISIS. Additionally, the US maintains that it is willing to facilitate repatriation efforts. A representative from the Permanent Mission of the Federal Republic of Germany to the United Nations responded on 20 November 2020 to explain that they were not in a position to comment on the issues raised and that they had forwarded RSI’s request to the capital, but that given the sensitivity of the topic and the short timeframe, and without seeing the full report, they would be unable to provide substantive comments. They did, however, explain that it would be more accurate to delete the word ‘vulnerable’ in point 4 (above) as Germany does not have ‘any sort of “ranking” of the vulnerability of children’. THE NETHERLANDS On 17 November 2020, RSI presented the following summary of factual findings to the Dutch Government: 53 1. RSI’s research shows that there are an estimated 75 Dutch children and 25 Dutch women being arbitrarily detained in al Hol and Roj camps. 2. These women and children are being held in inhumane conditions, as noted by numerous humanitarian organisations and NGOs. Children are dying regularly from preventable and treatable causes, including malnutrition, pneumonia, dehydration and tent fires. Within five days between 6 to 10 August 2020, eight children under five years old died in al Hol camp alone. During its research, RSI was made aware of the death of at least two Dutch toddlers in RIGHTS & SECURITY INTERNATIONAL