In my earlier reply to Question 89 (37724/14) I dealt with the broader consideration of this issue, in particular at the United Nations and the recent General Assembly session.
At EU level, the Foreign Affairs Council meeting which I attended on 15 August adopted Conclusions setting out the EU response at this stage. The Council stressed its major concerns regarding the human rights and humanitarian situations within Iraq, and outlined EU assistance being made available. The Council welcomed the establishment of a new Government in Iraq which it hopes will take a more inclusive approach and promote the active engagement by all Iraqis, whatever their ethnic or religious background, in the governance of their country.
On the security situation, the Council welcomed the provision of military support by individual member States to the Iraqi and Kurdish regional authorities, at their request, to combat terrorism, consistent with the provisions of UN Security Council resolution 2170.
In relation to resettlement of Iraqi families, it should be recalled that until June of this year, Iraq was itself a location in which refugees fleeing from ISIS in Syria were being accommodated.
The refugee crisis in and around Syria and Iraq is of enormous proportions, amounting to over 3 million from Syria alone. Resettlement in Europe cannot therefore be the answer to this crisis, as it could only assist a tiny fraction of those in need, while requiring a disproportionate share of the resources available. In addition, it is the normal principle that refugees should as far as possible be accommodated close to their homes, to facilitate eventual return. We do not want to unwittingly complete the work of ISIS by finally removing minority communities which have survived in the region for thousands of years.
Nonetheless, the Government has recognised that in some cases resettlement in Europe may have a role to play. Ireland has for many years operated a programme in cooperation with the UN High Commission for Refugees of accepting every year a certain number of cases brought to us by the UNHCR for resettlement here. In recent years, many of those places have been used for refugees from Syria and Iraq and earlier this year it was decided by the Minister for Justice and Equality that all of the available places this year should be allocated for Syrian refugees. More recently, the Minister for Justice and Equality and I have discussed this problem, and agreed that the Minister for Justice and Equality will look at whether we can make an additional number of places available for refugees fleeing the crisis in northern Iraq where minority communities in particular, such as Yazidis and Christians, have been subject to horrendous attacks by ISIS and other extremists.
These resettlement programmes are the responsibility of the Minister for Justice and Equality, to whom questions as to the precise numbers and origins of persons resettled here should be addressed.
