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Parliamentary question - E-006432/2014Parliamentary question
E-006432/2014

VP/HR — Danger of extermination of the Yazidi religious minority in Iraq

Question for written answer E-006432-14
to the Commission (Vice-President/High Representative)
Rule 130
Barbara Matera (PPE)

Iraq is home to a significant number of minorities of which the Yazidi religious community seems currently to be the one most affected by the ferocity of IS militants.

Unicef has reported that, solely in the days immediately following the conquest of the city of Sinjar, in the north of the country, by the Islamic State militia, 40 children belonging to the Yazidi minority died, if not as a direct result of the violence, then as a result of being displaced or from dehydration.

According to reports from the Iraqi Ministry of Women's Affairs, hundreds of women and girls belonging to the Yazidi religious minority have been taken prisoner by the same militia and are now in danger of being enslaved.

According to United Nations sources, there is total chaos on Mount Sinjar: hundreds of people are trapped there and have no way out.

This is then a genuine humanitarian emergency.

1. As an influential member of the international community, will the European Union intervene to rescue the Yazidi survivors? 2.  If so, what measures are being proposed?