Thank you to all the witness for being here today. The tragic events that keep unfolding in Iraq and Syria are very disturbing.
I want to thank Nadia Murad for her bravery and for raising awareness around the world of the plight of the Yazidis. The UN Secretary, Ban Ki-moon, has spoken of your strength and your courage and your dignity, all of which were witnessed here.
Ms. Murad, you mentioned during your recent appearance at the UN, and here today, that you lived in peace and that you were happy, and that you did not want to be a refugee. There are currently more than 3 million displaced in Iraq, many of whom are in the northern region of Kurdistan. Their local government has publicly spoken about the funding deficiencies, and with the recent flare-up in Fallujah there has been much conflict going on there.
I have an article here from Al Jazeera, from Shaker Mahmoud Hadi. Some of the things he mentioned in this article are that in Fallujah right now it's really a catastrophe, that the resources are not enough, and we can provide for only 30% of the displaced. Hadi called upon the international community to help the Iraqi government in dealing with the internally displaced people.
This is what the committee is here today to talk about, the IDPs and how we can better assist them.
The current Government of Canada has increased its humanitarian aid for Iraq to an unprecedented level of $1.6 billion. It provides training and troops fighting Daesh, including helping the peshmerga forces, and it is working with local governments for stabilization and development.
This is to Ismail. Would you say that this government's whole-of-government approach, including diplomacy, humanitarian aid, political negotiations, and training, is a good way to ensure long-term peace in Iraq?