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<p>We regularly discuss the plight of Yazidi women and girls in Iraq and Syria with
our European partners. The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede
and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) discussed the humanitarian implications of the ongoing
conflicts in Iraq and Syria with members of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in December
2015.</p><p>The UK is committed to supporting the victims of Daesh’s brutality. In
Syria and the wider region, the Department for International Development (DFID) is
funding specialised services for survivors and those at risk of gender-based violence.
This includes safe spaces, psychosocial support, cash assistance and reproductive
healthcare. In Iraq, DFID has deployed two experts to work with the UN to improve
the humanitarian response to sexual and gender-based violence.</p><p>Over the course
of this Parliament we are resettling 20,000 of the most vulnerable Syrian refugees
to the UK. Resettlement is only one strand of our efforts in the region. It is complemented
by the UK’s significant humanitarian aid programme and diplomatic efforts to end the
conflicts. We believe that this approach is the most effective way to ensure that
the UK’s help has the greatest impact for those who remain in the region. To date,
we have pledged over £2.3 billion of humanitarian assistance in response to the Syria
crisis, and provided an additional £79.5 million to Iraq to help support the most
vulnerable.</p>
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