Dr. Yusuf explained the latest situation of Kurdistan and referred to issues like fighting against IS militants and displacing of hundreds of thousand of Yezidis, Christian, and Arab families in Kurdistan. He also said that Baghdad has blocked Kurdistan’s budget for 8 months, and this has caused a serious financial crisis for both KRG and Kurdish people. The president of the Kurdistan parliament also asked Holland’s foreign minister to support Kurdistan for establishing democracy and protecting human rights.

On his side, Frans Timmermans, the foreign minister of Holland, said that they are serious concerning Kurdistan’s stability, because the stability of Kurdistan equals the stability of the region. He declared that they support Kurdistan by all means even, if necessary, using military aids. 

Proposing that what IS committed in Shingal is a genocide, Dr. Yusuf will discuss the situation of refugees in Kurdistan and will emphasize that they need urgent humanitarian aids. A number of parliamentarians from different ethnic and religious groups in the Kurdistan parliament along with the head of the committee of human rights are accompanied with him in this visit.  

For this purpose, the Kurdish delegation of the Kurdistan parliament met with the foreign minister of Holland and put shed on the recent events in Kurdistan such as attacks of IS militants and fleeing of hundreds of thousands of Yezidis, Christian, and Arab refugees to Kurdistan following IS’s brutal assaults. Consequently, the Holland parliament and government decided to take part in the international campaign against terrorism and IS. In addition, Holland showed its interest to provide humanitarian and military assistance for the Kurdistan region.

Prepared by the representative of the Kurdistan regional government in Holland, another part of the delegation’s activity was a speech concerning the current situation of Kurdistan, given by the speaker of the Kurdistan parliament in a seminar. A number of the representatives of the Kurdistan political parties and Holland civil society organizations attended the seminar.

Regarding the case of introducing IS militants’ cruel attacks on ethnic minority groups such as Yezidis, Christians, and Turkmen as genocide, the Kurdistan parliament delegation visited the International Criminal Court (ICC) in Lahai and took some strong steps for it.