MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the situation in Northern Iraq/Mosul
24.10.2016 - (2016/2956(RSP))
pursuant to Rule 123(2) of the Rules of Procedure
Javier Couso Permuy, Ángela Vallina, Patrick Le Hyaric, Kateřina Konečná, Paloma López Bermejo, Eleonora Forenza, Tania González Peñas, Xabier Benito Ziluaga, Lola Sánchez Caldentey, Miguel Urbán Crespo, Estefanía Torres Martínez, Marie-Christine Vergiat, Merja Kyllönen, Marina Albiol Guzmán on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B8-1159/2016
The European Parliament,
– having regard to its previous resolutions on the situation in Iraq and Syria, in particular that of 12 February 2015 on the humanitarian crisis in Iraq and Syria, in particular in the IS context[1],
– having regard to the Charter of the United Nations,
– having regard to Rule 123(2) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas the humanitarian situation in Iraq has continued to deteriorate since 2003 following the US invasion; whereas according to recent UN data the violence has resulted in over 3.3 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) across Iraq and has left more than 10 million in need of humanitarian assistance;
B. whereas the armed group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has seized control of several cities in central and Northern Iraq, including Mosul – Iraq’s second largest city and home to 2 million people – and Tikrit; whereas a coalition of Iraqi and Kurdish armed forces has begun a large-scale military offensive to retake Mosul;
C. whereas a major humanitarian crisis in Iraq, which has been growing since 2003 following the US-led invasion, has deepened as a result of the fighting; whereas the UN estimates that the Mosul offensive could displace up to 1 million people, some 700 000 of whom are likely to require emergency shelter support;
D. whereas the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and its partners have done their best to prepare to meet the needs of the people who may be displaced and affected by this military operation; whereas the funding of humanitarian assistance has been totally insufficient to prepare fully for this situation; whereas shelter in camps and emergency sites is currently available for only 60 000 people: whereas the construction of additional sites, with a capacity for 250 000 people, is underway; whereas drinking water is in dangerously short supply; whereas food rations for only 220 000 families are ready for distribution;
E. whereas, since the outbreak of the conflict in Syria, almost 240 000 people have fled from the violence into Iraq, mainly into its Kurdish region;
F. whereas the regional powers and international actors misuse the conflict in Iraq by pursuing their own interests and agenda; whereas Turkey, under the pretext of the fight against the so-called Islamic State, has intervened in Iraq against the Kurds and has deployed an estimated 2 000 troops across Northern Iraq, without coordinating or seeking agreement with the Iraqi Government; whereas the Turkish military presence in Iraq is a clear violation of the national sovereignty of Iraq;
1. Expresses deep concern for the safety of up to 1.5 million people living in Mosul, who may be impacted by military operations to retake the city from ISIL;
2. Reiterates that in the fight against ISIL, human rights and international humanitarian law must be respected; calls on all parties to the conflict to take concrete steps to ensure that all civilians are protected and assistance is delivered in accordance with international humanitarian law and humanitarian principles, including during all military campaigns; strongly calls on all parties involved to avoid establishing military positions in populated areas, and to desist from attacks directed against civilian targets; underscores the need for the parties to agree to humanitarian pauses, localised ceasefires and truces in order to allow humanitarian agencies safe and unhindered access to all affected areas;
3. Calls for the EU to ensure greater support for the increased numbers of refugees; encourages the Commission to make more financial and human resources available to assist the refugees; denounces the continuing insufficient financing of the work being done by the UNHCR;
4. Urges the EU to provide assistance to the refugees in the Kurdish part of Iraq;
5. Appreciates the military efforts to combat terrorist groups that operate as irregular armies, and urges the Iraqi army to act as a genuinely national force and to abandon old sectarian attitudes which are contributing to the deterioration of the situation;
6. Stresses that the best way to support the fight of the Iraqi people against the armed group ISIL is to the end the financing of any militias and, in particular, to stop buying oil being produced in oilfields under ISIL’s control and transported by truck through Turkey; stresses the fact that the conflict has been exacerbated by the arms trade and the supply of weapons;
7. Calls for an international conference on Iraq to be held under the auspices of the United Nations, with the participation of neighbouring countries; underlines that only a political solution that addresses the concerns and interests of every part of Iraqi society can put an end to the sectarian conflicts and violence in the country;
8. Strongly condemns the role various Western interventions in recent years have played in fostering the radicalisation of individuals, especially in the Middle East; stresses that such policies are promoting, not countering, terrorism and therefore should be abandoned; underlines the responsibility that those countries bear for the conflicts in the Middle East region and calls on them in particular to alleviate the suffering of those affected by violence and to grant asylum to refugees;
9. Especially condemns the invasion in 2003 that lead to the dismantling of the national state of Iraq and urges the regional and international actors to respect the UN Charter and to abstain from interfering in the internal affairs of other states;
10. Strongly urges Turkey to withdraw its troops from the Iraqi territory, and all countries to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq;
11. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the President of the European Council, the President of the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Head of the EU Delegation to Iraq, the presidents of the parliaments of the Member States, the Government and Council of Representatives of the Republic of Iraq, the Secretary‑General of the Union for the Mediterranean, and the League of Arab States.
- [1] Texts adopted, P8_TA(2015)0040.