Nadia Murad: Recognize ISIS crimes against Yezidis as genocide

Nadia Murad, the Yezidi woman who escaped Islamic State (ISIS) captivity and spoke out against the militant group, told her story at the United Nations today ahead of her appointment as the UN’s Goodwill Ambassador. She also asked the international community to recognize ISIS crimes against the Yezidis as genocide.

 

Murad told the UN that ISIS does not represent Islam and is merely using the monotheism to justify their crimes.

“I ask the Islamic world to stand with me against ISIS,” she said.

Murad said she cannot feel free while “still many thousands of Yezidi girls and women are still held captive.”

“I call the international community to take actions and rescue Yezidi captives,” she said.

 

 

The human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, who represents Nadia and sat by her side, denounced ISIS’s “bureaucracy of evil” and the “industrial scale” with which the militant group has brutalized the Yezidi people.  

Clooney told the UN that, “states are failing to prevent genocide since their own interests get in the way.”

She went on to say that she feels ashamed as a lawyer that nothing is being done about ISIS’ crimes and ashamed as a woman that women like Nadia could be subjected to such abuse.

Clooney said that the crimes against the Yezidis amount to genocide and should be recognized as such and told Nadia that her “strength and leadership astound,” her in light of what she had to endure.