Anniversary of the recognition of the genocide of the Yazidi people (January 19)

Two years after the German Bundestag officially recognized the genocide of the Yazidi people in Iraq in 2014 (January 19, 2023), the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) calls on the German Federal Government to put an end to all deportations of Yazidis to Iraq and to Syria.

“Members of the Yazidi community who have found refuge in Germany should not have to fear being sent back to areas where their lives are in danger. After radical Sunni Islamist forces seized power, the Yazidi heartland of Sinjar in the far northwest of Iraq is once again under increasing threat. Islamist militias are now on the march on both sides of the border,” stated Dr. Kamal Sido, the STP’s Middle East Consultant, in Göttingen today. According to estimates, there are currently around 200,000 Yazidis living in Germany – the largest Yazidi diaspora in the world.

While individual members of the so-called “Islamic State” (IS) are on trial in Germany for their involvement in the genocide crimes, the Middle East expert criticized that a comprehensive investigation of the genocide is still pending. “In the text of the recognition resolution, it was avoided to mention what roles NATO member Turkey, the Islamist Arab Emirate of Qatar, and Germany played in the establishment, financing, and strengthening of IS. However, a reappraisal is urgently needed to ensure that no more Islamist structures are financed with German aid – for example in Syria. These structures lead to increased persecution of Yazidis, Muslim Kurds, Christians, Alevis/Alawites, women, and all people who reject the Islamist regime,” explained the human rights activist, who was born Afrin in northern Syria.

“Further, there is also an urgent need to clarify how at least 40,000 Islamists from all over the world, including from Germany and other EU countries, were able to travel to Syria and Iraq via Turkey in order to kill Yazidi civilians and to rape Yazidi women,” the Middle East expert demanded. In Syria and Iraq, Turkey is currently fighting forces that, in 2014, had stood up against IS and supported the Yazidi people. The Kurdish YPG forces played a key role in saving thousands of Yazidis and were finally able to defeat IS for the most part: In Syria, they are currently suffering from attacks by the Turkish army and its Islamist allies – with airstrikes, especially using fighter drones, heavy artillery, rocket launchers, and tanks.

The German Federal Government silently tolerates these violations of international law and even shows understanding for Turkey’s “security interests”. Many Yazidi victims and members of other minority groups in the region, whom I regularly visit or remain in constant contact with, are accusing Turkey, Qatar, and Germany of aiding and abetting genocide and of taking part in and supporting the persecution of minorities,” Sido reported.

On August 3, 2014, the so-called “Islamic State” (IS) attacked the Yazidi community in Sinjar, killing at least 5,000 people. Around 7,000 women and girls were abducted into slavery. To this day, 2,000 of them are still considered missing. On January 19, 2023, the German Bundestag acknowledged the genocide of the Yazidis and promised comprehensive help for the Yazidis people as well as additional investigation.