In Erbil, he held meetings with the President of the Kurdistan Region, Massoud Barzani, Prime Minister Nechervan Barzani, the Speaker of the Regional Parliament, Yousif Mohammed, and other high-ranking officials.
In these meetings, Mr Maurer described the challenges faced by humanitarian workers in the field, such as reaching people in need and delivering aid and health care in areas affected by the violence.
"I am encouraged by the commitment of the leaders I have met to sparing and protecting civilians from violence by ensuring that the armed and security forces respect international humanitarian law," Mr Maurer said.
Mr Maurer joined an ICRC team conducting a prison visit in Baghdad. "Individuals detained in connection with the armed conflict must be treated with dignity and respect," he said. "The ICRC is striving to step up visits of this kind to ensure that conditions of detention meet international standards and that detainees can stay in touch with their families."
The ICRC operation in Iraq is its fourth largest operation in the world, amounting to 76 million Swiss francs in 2015 (78 million US dollars). One third of its worldwide budget is used to fund its operations in the Middle East.
(Source: International Committee of the Red Cross)
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