Iraqi right groups demand justice for Yazidi genocide survivors 10 years on
Shafaq News/ Human rights groups in al-Sulaymaniyah on Sunday called for justice and accountability for Yazidis on the tenth anniversary of the Islamic State group's attack on the Sinjar district in northern Iraq.
In a press conference on Saturday, Azad Khalil, head of the Coalition of Organizations Against Genocide, demanded that Iraqi authorities to unveil the findings of investigations into the ISIS takeover of Sinjar and the abduction of thousands of Yazidis.
"We call on the Iraqi government to announce the results of the investigations into the ISIS takeover of Sinjar and to hold accountable all those responsible for the fall of the city," Khalil said. He also urged the government to compensate the Yazidis for their losses.
The Yazidi community has long called for Iraq to join the International Criminal Court (ICC), arguing that it would send a strong message to the international community that the country is committed to justice and accountability.
"We call for Iraq to join the ICC to reassure Iraqis that Iraq today and tomorrow is different from the Iraq of the past," Khalil added.
The Yazidi community also called for wasting no effort to repatriate displaced Yazidis to their homes in Sinjar and to provide them with the necessary support to rebuild their lives.
On August 3, 2014, ISIS militants launched a brutal attack on Sinjar, killing thousands of Yazidis and abducting thousands of women and children. The attack was widely condemned as genocide by many governments and international organizations.
While Baghdad and Erbil reached an agreement in 2020 to normalize the situation in Sinjar, the agreement has yet to be fully implemented due to political disputes, according to Kurdish officials.
