To the international community, human rights organizations, and United Nations Member States
On this August 3, 2025, the Zagros Human Rights Center solemnly commemorates the eleventh anniversary of the genocide committed against the Yazidi community in the (Shengal) Sinjar region of Iraq. This tragedy remains one of the darkest chapters in the modern history of the Middle East.
A Recognized but Unrepaired Genocide
On August 3, 2014, the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) launched a systematic offensive against the Yazidis, an ancestral religious minority of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Within days, thousands of men were executed, more than 10,000 women and children were abducted and enslaved, and nearly 400,000 people were forced into exile.
Eleven years after these crimes against humanity—officially recognized as genocide by the Iraqi Parliament, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and several national parliaments—justice remains insufficient, and reconstruction largely unfulfilled.
A Broken Community, Rights Denied
Today, the situation of the Yazidi community remains critical:
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Over 2,600 women and children are still missing, their fate unknown
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Only a minority of displaced persons have been able to return to their ancestral homes in Sinjar
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Destroyed infrastructure has not been rebuilt, depriving the population of essential services
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Impunity prevails: very few perpetrators have been brought to justice
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Survivors, especially women, continue to suffer from deep trauma, with inadequate access to specialized psychological support.
Our Urgent Demands
The Zagros Human Rights Center calls for:
Justice and Reparations
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The establishment of a specialized international tribunal to prosecute the crimes of genocide committed against the Yazidis
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The implementation of a substantial reparations program for survivors and the families of victims
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The intensification of efforts to locate and identify missing persons.
Reconstruction and Return
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The immediate reconstruction of infrastructure in the Sinjar region
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Effective security guarantees in the area to allow the safe return of displaced families
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The restoration of essential public services (healthcare, education, electricity, water).
Memory and Prevention
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Official recognition of the Yazidi genocide by all UN Member States
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Inclusion of this tragedy in educational curricula to prevent future genocides
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Restoration and preservation of destroyed Yazidi religious and cultural sites.
A Call for International Responsibility
Eleven years have passed, and the international community has yet to fulfill its commitments to the Yazidi people. This deafening silence constitutes a second victimization and fosters impunity.
The Zagros Human Rights Center reminds the world that the protection of religious and ethnic minorities is a fundamental duty of the international community. The abandonment of the Yazidis is a collective moral failure that undermines the credibility of international human rights institutions.
In Memory of the Victims, for the Future of the Survivors
On this day of commemoration, we honor all the victims of the Yazidi genocide and express our unwavering solidarity with the survivors and their families. Their resilience in the face of horror is a powerful testament to human dignity.
We urge the international community to turn this commemoration into concrete action. Justice delayed is justice denied. It is time to act so that “Never Again” becomes more than an empty slogan, but a tangible reality.
Zagros Human Rights Center
August 3, 2025
