The Ilisu Dam Campaign works to stop British involvement in the dam and to highlight the wider policy implications for Britain's ethical foreign policy, sustainable development and for peace and security in the region. The campaign exists to:

• Raise public awareness of the environmental and human rights issues raised by the proposed construction of the Ilisu Dam throughout the world;
• Conduct research into the implications of the proposed Ilisu Dam;
• Communicate with officials (including government officials and elected representatives) in Britain and abroad about the implications of the proposed Ilisu Dam;
• Expose any double standards on the part of companies involved in the Ilisu Dam and press for them to act abroad as they would at home;
• Press for the UK Export Credit Guarantee Department, and other national export credit agencies, to adopt mandatory environmental and development standards - so that other "Ilisus" do not get public support in the future;
• Publicise the Ilisu Dam’s potential to exacerbate existing tensions in Kurdish areas and the threat it poses to peace and security in the region.