US supports justice for Yazidis, survivors of genocide in Iraq, Syria

Rudaw

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday reiterated Washington’s “unwavering support” for justice for Yazidis during a meeting with survivor and Nobel laureate Nadia Murad.

“I reiterated our unwavering support for justice and recovery for Yezidis and other survivors of genocide in Iraq and Syria,” Blinken said on X.

When the Islamic State (ISIS) captured Shingal in 2014, it committed genocide against the Yazidis, massacring men and older women, enslaving women and children, and destroying many villages and towns. Those who escaped the group were forced to flee to camps across Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.

Nadia Murad, who was abducted by ISIS during the genocide the group committed against Yazidis in Shingal, received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2018 and is an advocate for survivors of violence.

ISIS was declared territorially defeated in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria in 2019. Years later, however, thousands of Yazidis are still living in difficult conditions in camps, unable to return to their homes because of insecurity and lack of reconstruction.

Erbil and Baghdad in 2020 signed an agreement over the governance and security of Shingal in order to “normalize” and resolve a number of issues that have prevented the return of the area’s inhabitants who fled ISIS war. 

Murad has been at the forefront of the fight to hold ISIS members accountable with their crimes, as well as working together with the Kurdistan Region Presidency to ensure the safe return of survivors to the Yazidi heartland of Shingal.