OTTAWA: Nearly 800 Yazidi women and girls and others who fled persecution by the Daesh group in northern Iraq have been resettled in Canada, the immigration minister said Thursday.
Canada’s Parliament last year, with Iraqi activist Nadia Murad on hand, declared the persecution of Yazidis a genocide and said this country would take in up to 1,200.
“Today, I am proud (to say that) almost 800 Yazidi women and girls, and other survivors of Daesh have already arrived, and have begun the process of rebuilding their lives with the assistance of private sponsors and community groups all across Canada,” Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen told the House of Commons.
“I continue to be amazed by the generosity and compassion extended to this highly vulnerable group by all Canadians,” he added.
Thousands of women and girls, especially from the Yazidi minority, suffered horrific abuse in Daesh controlled areas, including rape, abduction, slavery and cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment.
Many were captured as spoils of war to be used as sex slaves after Daesh militants massacred Yazidis in Sinjar in 2014.
The women were sold and traded across the militants’ self-proclaimed “caliphate” in Syria and Iraq.
Around 3,000 are believed to remain in captivity, the UN Assistance Mission to Iraq (UNAMI) and the UN rights office said in an August report.
The report also raised particular concerns over the situation of hundreds of children born from the sexual violence risked facing a lifetime of discrimination and abuse.
On Tuesday, another Yazidi survivor, Shireen Jerdo Ibrahim, testified before a US congressional committee, seeking US help for her community.
800 Yazidis refugees resettled in Canada: Minister
800 Yazidis refugees resettled in Canada: Minister
EU chief calls additional US tariffs a mistake, insists sovereignty of Greenland ‘non-negotiable’
DUBAI: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described additional US tariffs on Europe as “a mistake,” and insisted that the sovereignty of Greenland was “non-negotiable” during a special address on Tuesday.
“When it comes to the security of the Arctic region, Europe is fully committed. And we share the objectives of the US in this regard … and this is why the proposed additional tariffs are a mistake, especially between longstanding allies,” she said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Donald Trump has vowed to follow through on his threat to impose tariffs on European countries who oppose his demand to take control of Greenland.
The US administration claims it is considering buying the semi-autonomous territory from fellow Nato member Denmark to prevent Russia and China from taking it.
But Von der Leyen said the EU was working on a package to support Arctic security, and also expressed the bloc’s full solidarity with Greenland and Denmark.
“The sovereignty and integrity of the territory is non-negotiable,” she said of Greenland as Trump declined to rule out the option of annexing it by force.
Von der Leyen made a reference to Trump’s wider focus on the Arctic region, which saw Washington order icebreaker ships from Finland.
“We will work with the US and all partners on wider Arctic security. Above all ... Arctic security can only be achieved together.
“Our EU member, Finland, one of the newest NATO members, is selling its first icebreakers to the US. And this shows that we have the capability right here in the ice, so to speak. It shows that our northern NATO members have Arctic ready forces right now.
“The EU and US agreed to a trade deal last July. And in politics, as in business, a deal is a deal. And when friends shake hands, it must mean something.
“We consider the people of the US not just our allies, but our friends. And plunging us into a downward spiral would only aid the very adversaries we are both so committed to keeping out of the strategic landscape.”
Von der Leyen insisted that the EU would continue to collaborate with the US on Ukraine amid Russia’s intensifying attacks.
