In Questions to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office this week, Emma raised concerns over the plight of the Yazidi population in Syria and Iraq.
The group that calls itself the Islamic State (IS) has carried out ethnic cleansing on a historic scale in northern Iraq. Amnesty International has found that the IS has systematically targeted non-Arab and non-Sunni Muslim communities, killing or abducting hundreds, possibly thousands, and forcing more than 830,000 others to flee the areas it has captured since the 10 June 2014.
Ethnic and religious minorities – Assyrian Christians, Turkmen Shi’a, Shabak Shi’a, Yezidis, Kakai and Sabean Mandaeans – have lived together in the Nineveh province, much of it now under IS control, for centuries. Today, only those who were unable to flee when IS fighters seized the area remain trapped there, under threat of death if they do not convert to Islam.
Hundreds, possibly thousands, of Yazidis, most of them women and children from the Sinjar region, were abducted as they fled the IS takeover. They continue to be held by the IS and, with a few exceptions, little is known of their fate or whereabouts. Some of those who managed to make contact with their families said they are being pressured to convert to Islam and some have reported that some of the women and children – both girls and boys – from their families were taken to unknown locations by their captors
Since 2014 at least 5,000 Yazidi civilians have been killed by IS or Daesh. More than 5,000 Yazidi women and girls as young as 12 have been held as sex slaves. Thousands remain in captivity, subjected to daily rape and torture.
Those who have managed to escape inevitably need specialist treatment and mental health support. However this is often not available. In Iraq, for instance there are just 0.37 psychiatrists per 100,000 people (compared to 14.63 in the UK).
Rozin Khalil, a 17 year old Yazidi girl living in the UK has set up a Change.org petition calling for the UK government to increase support for survivors. This has so far received nearly 230,000 signatures.
More than 1,000 survivors who cannot receive care in the region are being flown to Germany for specialist medical treatment and mental health support. The UK government has so far rejected requests to set up a similar scheme, on the basis that it is prioritising support in the region through the pooled fund, the Iraqi National Action Plan, and the Human Rights and Democracy fund.
Labour strongly welcome the UK’s contribution in the region. However given that the Yazidi women and girls who have escaped sexual slavery constitute a relatively small number with particularly acute needs that are not being met in Iraq, there is a very strong case for arranging treatment abroad where necessary.
You can read Emma’s Questions here:
Speaking after questions Emma said,
“The Under-Secretary’s of State’s response was insipid and trite. Nobody denies that we need to support these deeply traumatised people but the Government need to do more. This is a humanitarian crisis of grave proportions and the Government must do more to meet their own commitments under the preventing sexual violence in conflict initiative.”