Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have studied the report by Amnesty International detailing the extent of sexual violence by Islamic State on Yazidi women in Iraq; and whether they will now increase the number of refugees from the region being resettled in the United Kingdom, including Yazidi survivors of sexual violence.

The Government is aware of Amnesty International’s report and condemns all forms of sexual violence. However the Government does not consider that a policy of increasing the number of refugees resettled from the affected region is the most effective way to address the suffering of those displaced.

We believe we can make a greater impact and help more people through the provision of substantial humanitarian aid in the region and by working with the Iraqi government and international partners to find a solution to the conflict. The UK has committed £39.5 million to meet humanitarian needs in Iraq, including shelter, water, sanitation and medical care. Our aid is reaching displaced people across Iraq, including in the Kurdish region, where many Yazidis have fled to. We are also working with the Iraqi government and the international community to tackle the threat posed by ISIL and promote an inclusive, sovereign and democratic Iraq which will protect all Iraqi citizens.

The UK is ready to assist those from Iraq and other war-torn areas of the Middle East who come here in search of protection from violent persecution. We do so without discrimination, in accordance with the Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights.

The Government believes that this approach is the best way to help Iraqi nationals who have left their countries, and we therefore have no current plans to implement or extend resettlement schemes.