EU concerned about humanitarian situation in Iraq

Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Commissioner Christos Stylianides travelled to Iraq's Kurdistan region this weekend (25-26 July), meeting key government officials and humanitarian partners. The Commissioner's visit is the second to Iraq this year as the humanitarian situation is proving to be one of the most rapidly escalating crises in the world.

The EU recently allocated an extra €25 million in EU humanitarian assistance to Iraq following the recent launch of the funding appeal, the Iraq Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP), bringing total EU humanitarian funding for Iraq in 2015 to over €65.5 million.

Commissioner Stylianides stressed the need for all parties to the conflict to respect international humanitarian law, saying: "Together, we need to make sure that access to safe ground for all civilians is granted. The principle of distinction between combatants and civilians must be respected. We need to address humanitarian needs head on, as failing to do so could have a major destabilising effect on the Kurdish Region of Iraq and the whole country." For more information, see the factsheet on Iraq's humanitarian situation.

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