Toronto – The Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIS) continues to displace and harm many religious and ethnic minorities in Northern Iraq. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon calls on the international community “to support Iraq and help the government alleviate the suffering of all those impacted by the spiraling violence.”[1]
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) along with UN World Food Programme (WFP), UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and other partners has helped to relieve the current tensions by providing humanitarian assistance to the thousands of fleeing civilians in Northern Iraq who fled to the Dahuk district in the Kurdistan region.[2] The urgency of ISIS’s growing threat on Northern Iraqi Christians and Yezidis minorities sparked an emergency Security Council meeting, at the request of France, to respond to ISIS and plans to aid the civilians. [3] The Security Council also expresses Mr. Ban Ki-Moon’s worries of ISIS’s threat on thousands of displaced civilians and urges the international community to provide aid to the Iraqi government to combat the growing threat.[4]
ISIS’s ultimatum for Northern Iraqi minorities to “leave, convert or die” has led to thousands of civilians abandoning their homes and retreating from Islamic militants.[4] According to UN officials, an estimated 200 000 new refugees are seeking shelter in the Dahuk district in the Kurdistan region, away from the militants.[5]’[6]
Given the recent advancement of ISIS activities, the UN’s Security Council urges and calls on the international community to set aside their political indifferences and work together in “an inclusive and urgent political process” to secure Iraq’s future as a sovereign, independent state.[7] The Security Council also calls on the Iraqi government to curb the crisis “as quickly as possible” and to form a representative government of all the Iraqi citizens to find a definite solution to end the country’s current crisis.[8] As of recently, some members of the international community responded to support the Northern Iraqi minorities and their government. President Barack Obama of the United States of America has authorized “targeted air strikes” on ISIS in response to the huge spike of civilians fleeing the Islamic Militants.[9] The United States, since 2011, has conducted air drop plans with the Iraqi government (for Iraqi civilians) and now authorizes the actions to engage ISIS with airstrikes to protect Iraqi minorities and American diplomats in Irbil.[10] The United States has also created multiple steps in curbing ISIS’s destructive actions such as authorizing air strikes by NATO, create safe havens for minorities, block financial support to ISIS and provide arms to Kurdish Peshmerga for self-defence.[11]
France’s President Francois Hollande has also pledged “support” to combat ISIS militants and provide “support forces” to combat the threat.13
As ISIS’s rapid expansion plague across Northern Iraq and threaten Iraq’s national security, the UN continues to urge the international community to help aid Iraqi civilians harmed by ISIL’s escalating crimes against humanity.[12] The United Nation’s calls for international aid initially has led to slow results, however, humanitarian aid and military assistance has increased slowly to help the displaced Iraqi civilians and minorities from countries such as the US, UK, the EU and Australia.[13] Despite the initial slow response by the international community, the international community slowly responded to the crisis by providing humanitarian aid, monetary support, air drop supplies and provide military support to curb ISIS’s spread into other communities and commit further crimes against humanity.
References
Azim, Jade. "International Help for Yazidis Trapped by Islamic State on Mount Sinjar." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 14 Aug. 2014. Web. 26 Aug. 2014.Roberts, Dan, Martin
Chulov, and Julian Borger. "Obama Authorises Air Strikes on Isis to Help Iraqis Besieged on Mountain." Theguardian.com. Guardian News and Media, 08 Aug. 2014. Web. 08 Aug. 2014.
Guindy, Adel. "Six Steps the World Must Take Now to Stop the Horror of ISIS." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 11 Aug. 2014. Web. 26 Aug. 2014.
Simon, Steven. "Obama's Bombshell: The Unintended Consequences of Air Strikes in Iraq." Foreign Affairs. Foreign Affairs, 8 Aug. 2014. Web. 09 Aug. 2014.
Tets, Fernande V,. "'Leave, Convert or Die' - Isis Tells Residents of Iraq's Largest Christian Town - Independent.ie." Independent.ie. Irish Independent, 8 Aug. 2014. Web. 09 Aug. 2014.
Iraqi Civilians Suffering 'horrific' Persecution, Ethnic Cleansing – UN Rights Chief." UN News Center. UN, 25 Aug. 2014. Web. 26 Aug. 2014.
"Middle East - UN Calls for International Action after Attacks on Iraqi Minorities." France 24. France 24, 8 Aug. 2014. Web. 09 Aug. 2014.
"Northern Iraq: UN Voices Concern about Civilians’ Safety, Need for Humanitarian Aid." UN News Centre. United Nations, 8 Aug. 2014. Web. 9 Aug. 2014.
"UN Calls for Urgent Response to Help Thousands in Northern Iraq Displaced by Militants' Advance." UN News Centre. United Nations, 7 Aug. 2014. Web. 9 Aug. 2014.
[1] UN News Centre. “UN calls for urgent response to help thousands in northern Iraq displaced by militants' advance” (UN, 2014)
[2] UN News Centre. “Northern Iraq: UN voices concern about civilians’ safety, need for humanitarian aid”, (UN,2014)
[3] France 24. “UN calls for international action after attacks on Iraqi minorities” (France 24, 2014) 4 UN News Centre. “ “
[4] Fernande Van Tets. “'Leave, convert or die' - Isis tells residents of Iraq’s largest Christian town” (Irish Independent, 2014)
[5] Dan Roberts. “Obama authorizes air strikes on ISIS to help Iraqis besieged on mountain” (The Guardian, 2014)
[6] UN News Centre. “ “
[7] UN News Centre. “ “
[8] UN News Centre. “ “
[9] Steven Simon. “Obama’s Bombshell: The Unintended Consequences of Air Strikes in Iraq” (Foreign Affairs, 2014)
[10] Dan Roberts. “”
[11] Adel Guindy. “Six Steps the World Must Take Now to Stop the Horror of ISIS” (Huffington Post, 2014) 13 France 24. “”
[12] UN News Centre. “Iraqi civilians suffering ‘horrific’ persecution, ethnic cleansing – UN rights chief” (UN, 2014)
[13] The Guardian. “International help for Yazidis trapped by Islamic State on Mount Sinjar” (The Guardian, 2014)