A decade on from ISIS genocide, Iraqi Yazidis call for justice

Iraqi officials seek unity to ensure a swift reconstruction of Sinjar so thousands can return home

Relatives of Yazidis murdered by ISIS mourn victims of the genocide, during a funeral ceremony in Baghdad in January. AP

Ceremonies were held across Iraq on Saturday to mark 10 years since ISIS began its campaign of genocide against the Yazidi community.

On August 3, 2014, ISIS extremists arrived in Sinjar, northern Iraq, and began trying to eliminate the Yazidis, a predominantly Kurdish-speaking ethno-religious group that ISIS considered heretical.

ISIS killed men and boys, and sold women into slavery or forced them to convert and marry militants. Many others fled.

Ten years on, some Yazidis have returned to Sinjar. But despite their homeland’s deep emotional and religious significance, many see no future there.

They say there is no money to rebuild homes and infrastructure in a landscape still haunted by horrific memories, where armed groups are still present.

“I believe the world should not forget about the Yazidis because our community has not fully recovered,” Murad Ismael, president and co-founder of Sinjar Academy, co-founder and former executive director of Yazda, a US-based non profit group, told The National.

“Most of our people remain internally displaced, with around 25 per cent having fled Iraq since 2014. Our homeland, Sinjar, faces ongoing security, administrative, and economic challenges, and there have been only nine international trials for the crimes committed against us,” he said.

“As conflicts continue in other regions, our suffering is often forgotten. Justice is important,” said Yazidi survivor Nasrin Hassan Rasho, who was enslaved for two years before she escaped her captors.

“We urge attention on the International Criminal Court and the establishment of a mixed court to hold ISIS members accountable, regardless of their nationality,” she told The National.

Members of Iraq's Yazidi religious minority sit at the Lalish Temple in Shekhan district, near Duhok, Iraq. Reuters

A ceremony was held at the Yazidi Genocide Memorial in Sinjar on Saturday, in which hundreds gathered in remembrance of the victims.

“Ten years ago today, my life and the lives of hundreds of thousands of Yazidis were upended and shattered,” said Nadia Murad, a Nobel-peace prize human rights campaigner.

“Our community – especially the survivors – remains resilient, tirelessly fighting for justice, rebuilding their lives, and restoring their community,” she said on social media network X.

Ms Murad called on the international community to support thousands of families to return home, to hold ISIS accountable, rescue the women and children who are still missing, rebuild Sinjar, and support survivors.

Iraq has designated August 3 as a national day to honour victims of terrorism and stand in solidarity with Yazidi survivors.

Prime Minister Mohammed Al Sudani said in a statement that his cabinet is working to “guarantee all rights” of those who have suffered from terrorism.

“My cabinet has been diligently following up on the implementation of laws and legislation to provide justice to the victims, and to continue the reconstruction of their areas for the return of all displaced people,” Mr Al Sudani said.

Iraqi forces are still pursuing the remnants of terrorism, he said, in reference to ISIS sleeper cells across the country.

The presence of an estimated 50,000 ISIS fighters and their families across the border in Syria in detention centres and camps stokes fears among the Yazidi of history repeating itself.

ISIS killed an estimated 5,000 Yazidis and abducted an estimated 6,800 Yazidis, predominantly women and children. Around 2,600 women and girls are still held in captivity in Iraq, Syria, and other countries almost 10 years later, with no proper institutionalised mechanism to rescue them.

The destruction of Yazidi religious and cultural sites, farms, and homes has forced the displacement of an estimated 400,000 Yazidis from Sinjar district.

More than 200,000 are displaced living in camps in Iraq’s northern Kurdistan region only hours away from their homeland.

Iraqis from the Yazidi community inspect their house that was badly damaged by Islamic State fighters during their occupation of Bashiqa, east of Mosul, Iraq in 2016. AP

ISIS also hunted and killed members of other minority groups in the area, including the Shabak, Turkmen and Christians.

The Kurdistan Regional Government President Nechirvan Barzani said the genocide is a “turning point” in the history of Iraq and Kurdistan.

“We assure all Yazidi brothers and sisters that the work of the office to rescue the kidnapped Yazidis will continue until all are rescued,” he said during a ceremony in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s northern Kurdistan region.

He called on the Iraqi government to work with the Kurdistan Regional Government to ensure the implementation of the Sinjar agreement and that the welfare of the Yazidis should be their priority.

Mr Barzani said justice has to be served for the victims and called for a swift reconstruction of the areas destroyed by ISIS to allow the safe return of Yazidis.

Yazidi leader Mir Hazim Tahsin demanded during the event in Erbil that the Yazidis be involved in the political process. He called on the Iraqi government to allocate a budget for the reconstruction of Sinjar.

Mr Tahsin urged the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government to co-ordinate to provide the victims a chance of returning to normal lives.

With additional reporting by Aveen Karim.