Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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136. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the steps he has taken to specifically help the Yazidi; if he will consider providing specific funding to assist the Yazidi women and children that have escaped sexual slavery and abuse at the hands of ISIS; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6811/19]

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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137. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he has given consideration to recognising formally the brutal campaign against the Yazidi by ISIS as genocide; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6812/19]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 136 and 137 together.

I absolutely and unreservedly condemn the vile and criminal acts committed against Yazidis by the terrorist group ISIS in Iraq and Syria. I am appalled by the suffering which the innocent people caught up in these events have endured, especially women and girls who were the targets of sexual and gender-based violence. While the situation has improved with a successful fight back against ISIS in Iraq and Syria, challenges remain in terms of healing the trauma victims have endured, ensuring humanitarian aid reaches them, and ensuring displaced populations can return to their homelands once it is safe to do so.

In September 2015, Ireland addressed the UN Human Rights Council on the topic of a report by the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria, which concluded that ISIS had committed the crime of genocide against the Yazidis. In our statement, we noted that the Human Rights Counciland the membership of the United Nationshave "an inarguable duty to end these crimes and work to achieve justice and accountability for the victims”.

I regard the report of the Commission of Inquiry and its findings of genocide as authoritative. However, the responsibility for a legal determination of the crime of genocide is a matter for a legally competent and internationally recognised court. These atrocities took place in both Syria and Iraq and reported crimes in both States need to be investigated and prosecuted.

In this regard, I welcomed the UN Security Council Resolution of September 2017 requesting the creation of an independent investigative team to help to hold ISIS accountable for its actions in Iraq. The resulting body, known as UNITAD, has now been established, and is currently focusing on a number of core activities, such as the collection of existing evidence, conducting field-based investigations, and preserving evidence of acts that may amount to genocide and other grave crimes committed by ISIS in Iraq. Ireland fully supports the efforts of UN Special Adviser and Head of UNITAD, Karim Asad Ahmad Khan, in helping to bring the perpetrators of these heinous crimes to justice.

Ireland is of course a substantial humanitarian donor in Syria, having contributed over €116 million in funding since 2012. And Ireland has provided over €9.5 million in humanitarian assistance to Iraq since 2012, including €2 million to the UN Iraq Humanitarian Fund (IHF) in 2018. The Fund is managed by UN OCHA, and provides emergency assistance to those affected by conflict and displacement, including the Yazidi. In addition, Ireland contributes to the humanitarian response in Iraq via our contributions to the EU budget. The EU’s humanitarian response provided over €40 million to Iraq in 2018. This funding is for a wide range of interventions targeted at the most vulnerable parts of Iraqi society. Last year this included assistance of €5 million towards emergency reproductive and mental health care for victims of violence.

Last week, officials from my Department met with an NGO which advocates on behalf of the Yazidi people to discuss the current challenges their community faces in Iraq and internationally, including the issue of justice and accountability for the terrible crimes that have been perpetrated against them. We will continue to monitor the situation closely.