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<p>The UK Government recognises the specific risks such as abduction and murder faced
by religious minorities in Iraq and Syria, including those who have suffered so horrifically
at the hands of Daesh, and is deeply concerned by reports of human rights abuses motivated
by religious or ethnic identity.</p><p>All people in need, from any community, irrespective
of religious affiliation, are eligible for humanitarian assistance. DFID’s humanitarian
implementing partners, including the UN, consider a wide range of issues when assessing
an individual’s vulnerability such as the impact of physical or mental disabilities,
income, age, missing family members, and whether individuals are already receiving
assistance from other sources.</p><p>The organisations through which we channel our
support do not identify or record beneficiaries by their religion. The reason for
this is because there is a risk that collecting information about the ethnicity or
religion of people receiving aid could be obtained by others, including extremist
groups, and used to persecute them.</p><p>We do not therefore hold information on
how much UK-funded support is channelled to Yezidis and Christians either inside or
outside camps. This year the UK will provide £40 million for urgent humanitarian assistance
in Iraq and £4 million for the UN’s Funding Facility for Immediate Stabilisation (FFIS)
to help rebuild communities affected by Daesh, including for minority communities
in newly liberated areas in Iraq. The UK is also providing £500 million to support
people, including refugees and internally displaced Syrians, affected by the Syria
crisis in 2017. DFID does not fund the Bishops Emergency Committee.</p><p>The Nineveh
Reconstruction Committee comprised of Church representatives has not contacted the
UK Government or submitted a proposal for UK support for the construction of homes
on the Nineveh Plains.</p><p>The UK is funding the UN’s Funding Facility for Immediate
Stabilisation (FFIS), which is supporting 152 projects in mainly Christian communities
in the Ninewa Plains and 70 projects in Yezidi communities in Sinjar, Rabia and Sinuni.</p><p>UN
agencies are obliged to operate by the humanitarian principles of neutrality and impartiality
which aim to ensure that no one is excluded or discriminated against on the grounds
of race, ethnicity, or religion; and to also ensure that the specific risks facing
minorities are addressed and that assistance reaches those who need it most. DFID
considers reports from a wide range of sources, including field visits by UK officials
where these are possible, to assess the effectiveness of UN operations and their compliance
with humanitarian principles. The UN carries out vital work in both Syria and Iraq,
and UN staff frequently risk their lives to deliver assistance to people in need,
including to areas where Daesh or the Assad regime seek to prevent aid being delivered.</p>
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