The UK welcomed the launch of the NATO Training Mission Iraq at the Brussels Summit in 2018. We are commited to supporting the training mission through the deployment of the UK civilian and military personnel including a senior civilian adviser and other personnel as part of the NATO Communications and Information Systems Support Group, on rotation with other allies.

Humanitarian, stabilisation and reconstruction needs in Iraq are amongst the most severe in the world, with many millions of people requiring support. The UK prioritises carefully to ensure our funding benefits the most vulnerable people. UK funding is distributed on the basis of need, to ensure civilians are not discriminated against on the grounds of race, religion, or ethnicity. This approach is enabling Christians in Iraq to benefit from UK aid.

For example, the UK has contributed £14.45 million to the UN’s Funding Facility for Stabilisation (FFS), which helps the Government of Iraq re-establish basic services in areas liberated from Daesh, helping displaced Iraqis return to their places of origin. The FFS is heavily focussed on the Ninewa plains, and is implementing over 200 projects in areas where Christian communities reside. These projects are diverse in scope, and all are targeted at the most acute stabilisation needs, for example the rehabilitation of housing and infrastructure and the reopening of hospitals and schools.

We are appalled by these acts but we judge that such a referral to the International Criminal Court by the UN Security Council is not practical at this time. When efforts were made by the Security Council to refer the situation in Syria to the ICC in 2014, this was vetoed by Russia and China. We continue to look at every available option to ensure accountability in Syria and Iraq, and to work with our international partners on what can be done both to assist the victims and to bring those responsible to justice.

The UK has led efforts to create and enforce an international legal regime to cut off support for Daesh and other terrorist groups, including through the UN.

In August 2014, under the UK’s Presidency we co-sponsored UN Security Council Resolution 2170 which restricted Daesh’s financial, trade and recruitment networks, as well as sanctioning individuals.

The UK also co-sponsored resolution 2178, which built on resolution 2170 by strengthening the international response to threats posed by foreign terrorist fighters. The Resolution calls on Member States to prevent the “recruiting, organizing, transporting or equipping of individuals who travel to a State other than their States of residence or nationality for the purpose of the perpetration, planning of, or participation in terrorist acts.

The UK was the first to deploy a team to assess the humanitarian situation following the Islamic State in Iraq and Levant's attack on Mosul. On 14 June 2014 the Department for International Development (DFID) announced £3 million of emergency assistance to help around 500,000 displaced Iraqis, and a further £2 million was allocated on 17 June.