Copenhagen – Ten years after the Islamic State (IS) attacked and seized Sinjar in northern Iraq, initiating a genocidal campaign against Yazidis, over 200,000 Yazidis survivors are still displaced and living in camps across the Kurdistan Region of Iraq under precarious conditions, fearful of returning to a home in ruins.

The trauma of the genocide persists, especially as many family members are still missing.

“It is important for me that the perpetrators know that no matter what happened to us with the genocide, we will never give up and that we are ready to rebuild our communities from the rubble,” said Hakeema Taha, a Yazidi survivor who attended a panel discussion at the UN City in Copenhagen on Tuesday organized by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Êzidi Cultural Association in Denmark on the 10^th year commemoration of the attack.

The event, attended by approximately 250 visitors, aimed to honour the memory of the victims, recognize the resilience of the victims and promote a dialogue on the current challenges and opportunities for the Yazidi community. In addition to the screening of the documentary ‘Mediha’, participants were also able to visit the exhibition ‘Breaking the Silence’ promoted by the Danish NGO Mission East, displaying paintings created by Yazidi women and girls’ survivors.

Since the attack on 3 August 2014, more than 5,500 Yazidis have been killed by IS forces, who perpetrated mass executions, forced conversions, abduction and enslavement, systematic sexual violence and other heinous acts.

“In 2014, about 6,300 Yazidi women and girls were abducted and subjected to sexual slavery; ten years later, more than 2,000 men and women remain in captivity,” Bahzad A. Mourad, chairman of the Êzidi Cultural Association in Denmark pointed out. “We won’t stop until the last member of our community is freed and reunited with their families.”

In addition to the human toll, IS destroyed public infrastructure and homes in Sinjar, sabotaging irrigation canals and wells and destroying farming systems to make the land infertile.

Since 2014, IOM Iraq has collaborated closely with national partners to support the Yazidi community, focusing on immediate support to survivors, while facilitating longer-term solutions to a complex set of challenges. For example, IOM has assisted victims' families in seeking justice and access to compensation and reintegration services to survivors provided under the Yazidi Survivor Law, established by the Government of Iraq in 2021 to support the recovery and reconstruction of communities affected by the violence. In November 2023, IOM and local actors inaugurated the Yazidi Genocide Memorial in Solagh, Sinjar, to honor the lives lost during the genocide, and to provide survivors a space for mourning.

Despite continuing hardship, the Yazidi community is working together to rebuild their homeland with remarkable achievements. However, to achieve durable solutions to displacement for Yazidis who have returned, and those who wish to do so, funding remains needed to address the lack of adequate housing and basic services, including running water, electricity, healthcare, psychosocial support and access to education.

“Ten years after the brutal attacks on the Yazidi community in northern Iraq, we remain committed to supporting Yazidis and other minorities in Iraq, and their sustainable recovery remains at the centre of IOM’s work in Iraq and our global advocacy efforts,” highlighted Caroline Hendersen, Deputy Chief of Mission at IOM Iraq.

For more information, please refer to Progress Towards Durable Solutions Reports.

 ***

For more information please contact:    

In Copenhagen, Denmark: Alessandro Lira, Sub-Regional Media and Communications Officer for Nordic Countries,  alira@iom.int, +45 23 66 76 33     

In Erbil, Iraq:  Deepika Nath, Media and Communications Officer, dnath@iom.int, +41 76 630 2529

Read in Kurdish