On August 1st, the Gilgamesh Hall in Baghdad was filled with emotion as Yazidi families and genocide survivors gathered to remember the events of August 3rd, 2014 when ISIS attacked Yazidis in Sinjar, resulting in the death of thousands of Yazidis, while abducting thousands of women, girls, and children.
Farida Global Organization, in collaboration with 26 other CSOs, organized the 9-year solemn commemoration of the Yazidi Genocide event. Survivors, who endured the genocide, engaged in profound dialogues with stakeholders from government bodies, international diplomatic missions, non-governmental organizations, community leaders, and human rights activists. Together, they reaffirmed their unwavering commitment to pursuing justice and healing for the survivors and their families.
Two panel discussions were held, shedding light on important topics related to the Yazidi current situation. Farida Global team, along with other CSOs, played a vital role either by moderating or being panelists. The panels were titled “Yazidi Perspectives: Addressing Multi-faceted Challenges” and “International Alliance”. In those panels, the challenges facing the Yazidi community from a legislative perspective, implementation, humanitarian support, and survivor’s perspectives were discussed. In the second panel, the challenges posed by the limitations of the Iraqi judicial system in prosecuting ISIS members were explored, and potential effective strategies to overcome these obstacles were discussed.
On behalf of Farida Global Organizations, we would like to express our gratitude and thanks to all the other 26 Yazidi CSOs for joining us in co-organizing this commemoration event. We also extend our thanks to all survivors, their families, and friends of the Yazidi cause from all diplomatic missions who joined us in commemorating the 9th anniversary of the Yazidi genocide. Thanks also to our partners who supported our work, namely, European Endowment For Democracy and UNITAD, and ICMP, IOM Iraq.
We urge the Iraqi government and the international community to:
1. Allocate 1% of the Iraqi budget by 2024 to rebuild Sinjar.
2. Establish a specialized committee with the primary objective of locating and reuniting the 2700+ missing Yazidi individuals.
3. Fully implement the Yazidi Survivors Law.
4. Enable reparative justice for Yazidi Genocide survivors and adopt legislation for the domestic prosecution of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.
By employing these measures, we believe that substantial progress can be made towards addressing the needs and rights of the Yazidi community, fostering the rebuilding of Sinjar’s infrastructure, and promoting accountability for past atrocities.