10th anniversary of the genocide of the Yazidis in Iraq (August 3)

Ten years after the genocide of the Yazidis in northern Iraq, the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) criticizes that there is still no prospect of a secure future for the survivors, both in Iraq and in German exile. On Wednesday, the human rights organization demanded German Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser to grant the 5,000 to 10,000 members of the religious community in Germany permanent protection and to protect them from a possible deportation. On August 3, 2014, the so-called Islamic State (IS) had attacked the Yazidi people in Sinjar in northern Iraq, killing around 5,000 of them. Approximately 7,000 women and children were enslaved. 2,000 are still missing until today.

“On January 19, 2023, the German Bundestag not only acknowledged the genocide of the Yazidis, but also clearly stated that the situation is far too dangerous for a return – and therefore hopeless,” the STP reminded the minister. Given the horrific crimes IS committed against this community, it should be a matter of course to provide the surviving refugees here in Germany with the opportunity to work through their severe traumas in safety and to regain a stable daily life.

“The acknowledgement of the genocide will turn into a shameful gesture if it is not accompanied by a promise to protect those affected from such life-threatening situations in the future and to prevent them from being traumatized again,” stated Tabea Giesecke, STP expert on ethnic, religious, and linguistic minorities. “On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the crimes, we commemorate the victims of the genocide and stand in solidarity with the Yazidi community, which still has to fight for justice and, here in Germany, against transnational discrimination, mostly by other migrant groups.” Further, Giesecke emphasized: “The protection the Yazidi people should be granted in connection with the acknowledgement of the genocide must not continue to turn into fear of deportation and loss of trust in German politics.”