THE HUMANITARIAN CRISIS IN THE KURDISTAN REGION

That this House recognises the enormous humanitarian crisis affecting the Kurdistan region of Iraq whose population of five million people has been joined by about 1.4 million refugees from Syria and internally displaced people who fled Islamic State (IS) jihadists, most of them arriving in August 2014 with nothing but the clothes on their back; further recognises that many public spaces have been occupied by these people who sometimes outnumber locals; urges non-governmental organisations and governments to continue and increase efforts to help the Kurds cope with this financially and through the transfer of expertise; believes that the military defeat of the Islamic State will create the best conditions for the eventual return to their homes of these refugees; suggests that the Government urges the UN and regional powers to accept the necessity of military action to defeat IS; further believes that equipping the Kurds with heavy weapons and training in addition to the UK and others taking part in US airstrikes can help sustain such necessary military action; deeply regrets that, even when the Kurdistan Regional Government is in the frontline against extremism, the federal government of Iraq has continued to withhold their budget entitlements, unconstitutionally block Kurdish energy exports, and refuse to equally pay, equip and train the Peshmerga; and further urges the federal government in Baghdad to swiftly agree a lasting settlement on these issues and also allow the KRG control over its airspace as part of a new confederal arrangement within the current borders of Iraq.