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AUSTRALIA
AUSTRALIA
UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL
19 September 2014


The Situation in Iraq


Statement by HE the Honourable Julie Bishop, MP
Minister for Foreign Affairs of Australia


(As delivered)



I thank you Mr President for initiating this meeting today, for we
must send a clear signal of the international communitys strong
support for Iraq. Australia endorses the terms of the Presidential
Statement; it is an affirmation of Iraqi and international efforts to
combat the terrorist threat posed by ISIL and to provide
humanitarian relief to prevent further suffering.

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The attacks by ISIL have brutalised the Iraqi population and
shocked us all. Atrocities against women and girls and against
vulnerable minorities and security force opponents, as well as the
barbaric use and then beheading of captured journalists, an aid
worker and others, to advance their depraved agenda, are utterly
despicable.

Who can forget the grotesque images shown around the globe of
an Australian child, not more than nine years old, standing with his
father, an ISIL leader, holding up the severed head of a soldier?
This showed, beyond any ambiguity, the kind of hideous acts of
which this group is capable.

Australia condemns absolutely ISIL and its ilk, their barbarism and
their ideology. The international community cannot, with any
conscience, turn away. We cannot leave the people and
Government of Iraq to face this cruelty alone.

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ISILs actions leave in no doubt the severity of the threat to the
region and to the wider world. It poses a threat to Australia, our
friends in South East Asia, and beyond. We have seen this before
extremists, foreign fighters, returning home - responsible for
terrorist attacks in our region. Australias security and law
enforcement agencies have taken steps in recent days against a
group in our country inspired by ISIL who were seeking to emulate
their brutality in Australia. ISIL is a threat to the fundamental
values of the international community and an affront to our shared
sense of humanity.

Australia has announced our preparedness to do more to help Iraq
and its partners in this fight. In cooperation with Iraq, we are
deploying a military force to the region for possible involvement in
a United States-led effort to support Iraq against ISIL. We are
willing to provide strike, early warning and air-to-air refuelling
aircraft, and a Special Forces Task Group to advise and assist the
Iraqi Security Forces.

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This is a prudent and proportionate response to the threat posed by
this murderous terrorist organisation.

Efforts to effectively end ISILs ravages and territorial ambitions
will necessarily involve measures to cut off ISILs support
network, including the flow of fighters, arms and funding. There is
more we can all do. Australia is introducing legislative reforms to
address the threat from home-grown terrorism and is intensifying
our counter-terrorism engagement with others. We urge other
Member States to do the same.

Political measures are also needed. Formation of a new Iraqi
Government is a positive step towards addressing issues that
contributed to ISILs advance. Australia supports Prime Minister
Al-Abadi as he seeks to form an inclusive government capable of
rebuilding a stable and cohesive Iraq that can counter the forces of
violent extremism.

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The security situation in Iraq remains grave. The humanitarian
needs, including of innocent women and girls in conflict zones, are
multiplying. Nearly two million people are believed to be
internally displaced. These people are vulnerable. Their protection
needs are urgent. ISIL has explicitly targeted minorities and also
women and children for sexual violence. There must be
consequences for the perpetrators.

Australia will help address the needs specifically of displaced
women and girls, and victims of gender-based violence, and
provide a further $2 million to help the United Nations Population
Fund to scale up delivery of reproductive and other health care.
Australia has provided $5 million in emergency humanitarian
funding to Iraq and we have undertaken air drops of emergency
supplies to besieged communities on Mount Sinjar and in Amerli.
We have also provided around $130 million in humanitarian aid
for those in dire need in Syria, and assisted Lebanon and Jordan
face the outpouring of refugees across their borders.

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The humanitarian crisis must end. The international community
cannot stand by and do nothing in the face of ISILs threat to
humanity. This is why Australia is joining international partners to
assist the Iraqi Government in its fight against ISIL.

Thank you Mr President.