07 February 2025
President Trump’s has global implications.
Dr Alison Bisset, Associate Professor in International Human Rights Law at the ºÚ¹Ï³ÔÁÏÍø, and colleague Dr Saeed Bagheri, Lecturer in International Law at the ºÚ¹Ï³ÔÁÏÍø, assess the implications of potential funding cuts on the thousands of foreign fighter families detained in camps across Syria.
Dr Alison Bisset said: “The US government is reevaluating its support for foreign aid. The new regime in Damascus has made clear that it intends to exercise control over the entirety of Syrian territory, which presumably includes the area currently held by the Kurdish dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Turkey would like the SDF dismantled and has threatened military operations in the territory controlled by the SDF.
“This could well be crunch time. The situation is arguably now more volatile than ever. A situation where the SDF loses control of the camps must be avoided if regional stability is to be maintained. Conditions in the camps are infamously dire and experts have repeatedly warned that they are a breeding ground for radicalization and a threat to international security.
“It seems unlikely that the Trump administration will be content to support the camps long term. During his last presidency, Trump called upon Western states to repatriate their nationals and threatened to release them to Europe if action was not forthcoming. It is time for a concerted international effort to empty the camps and return ISIS members and their families to their states of nationality.”
Dr Bagheri said: “The lack of resources available for the SDF, especially if the US government cuts aid, would require further efforts to be made by the international community to tackle the issue of guarding ISIS prisoners from other nations in northern Syria or repatriation of such detainees. Taking the role of guarding ISIS detainees in the camps in northern Syria would importantly require agreements between SDF and foreign governments on which they could create incentives to bring ISIS detainees with foreign nationalities to justice. This would, of course, require both sides to identify their capacities and obstacles tied to the relevant justice process.”
Professor Rosa Freedman, Professor of Law, Conflict and Development, comments on the impact cuts will have on global health.
Professor Rosa Freedman said: "USAID provides up to 40 per cent of the world's development aid, which primarily focuses on supporting education, health, and economic prosperity. It works in in more than 100 countries, largely targeting communities which are marginalised, are in crisis or conflict, or people living in secure zones.
"If the freeze on USAID activity becomes prolonged or permanent, the impacts will be felt most acutely in terms of health, with issues mounting in the coming months and years. This will be partly due to the prevention of further vaccines being distributed or funded by USAID. This could mean that preventable diseases, which we thought had been contained or even eradicated, could reappear or worsen, such as cholera and malaria.
"USAID has been a world leader in combatting the spread of HIV/Aids, supporting the supply of antiretroviral drugs and post-exposure prophylaxis treatments, and working to prevent the spread of HIV/Aids around the world.
"The US has been such a huge provider of these treatments globally that it would be naive to think that other countries can easily step in to fill this vacuum. What this means is that we could see a rise in healthcare problems around the world. Given the globalised and interdependent nature of our planet, the concern will be that these diseases could spread quickly and far."
Professor Freedman, Dr Bisset and Dr Bagheri are available for interview. Contact the ºÚ¹Ï³ÔÁÏÍø Press Office on 0118 378 5757 or pressoffice@reading.ac.uk to arrange.
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