Iraq: Internally Displaced People

(asked on 7th July 2020) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the recommendations to the UN Human Rights Council in the report Visit to Iraq: Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons, published on 13 May, what discussions they intend to have with the government of Iraq about supporting "ethnic and religious minorities in achieving durable solutions for their particular situation by promoting both intercommunal and intracommunal dialogue and social cohesion, and engaging in dialogue with minorities to rebuild trust and identify solutions".


Answered by
 Portrait
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This question was answered on 21st July 2020

The UK is firmly committed to supporting the rights of ethnic and religious minorities in Iraq. We are supporting the development of inclusive and representative reconciliation processes, involving ethnic and religious minorities, at both national and community levels in Iraq. We have also contributed £28 million to the UNDP Funding Facility for Stabilisation (FFS), which is helping to enable return of internally displaced persons, including minorities, to areas liberated from Daesh by restoring vital infrastructure and basic services.

We recognise the vulnerability of children born under Daesh and the risks of them being excluded from Iraqi citizenship and society in the future. We continue to raise these concerns with the Iraqi authorities. We welcome the steps recently taken by the Iraqi Government to address the specific problem of the legal status of children born to Yezidi survivors as a result of sexual violence.

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