Iraqi vows reconstruction, accountability 11 years after Yazidi genocide

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Marking the 11th anniversary of the Yazidi genocide, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani on Sunday announced a series of government initiatives aimed at delivering justice to survivors and reconstructing the war-torn district of Shingal (Sinjar), as many Yazidis remain displaced due to insecurity and lack of basic services.

Speaking at an annual commemoration ceremony, Sudani stated that the government had taken “key decisions and issued directives” to uphold the rights of the Yazidi community. These include the reconstruction of their main temples in Shingal and the establishment of a museum there to document the atrocities committed by the Islamic State (ISIS).

He further declared that the first Wednesday of April will now be recognized as an official holiday for the Yazidi community.

ISIS in June 2014 seized large parts of northern and western Iraq. By August, the group launched a brutal campaign against the Yazidi community in Shingal, killing an estimated 5,000 to 10,000 Yazidi men and elderly women, and abducting between 6,000 and 7,000 women and girls for sexual slavery and human trafficking. Around 400,000 Yazidis fled, with most seeking refuge in the Kurdistan Region.The United Nations has officially recognized the crimes as genocide.

“We directed the pursuit and prosecution of the perpetrators to ensure justice and accountability,” Sudani added on Sunday, noting ongoing efforts to locate the missing and rescue remaining abductees.

The Iraqi premier also highlighted the implementation of the Yazidi Survivors Law, passed in 2021, which provides financial compensation and support to survivors of ISIS brutality. As of now, 2,428 individuals are covered under the law, with 2,216 receiving monthly stipends, Sudani said.

A significant component of the initiative additionally includes the distribution of land deeds. Sudani noted that the Iraqi government has authorized the issuance of title deeds for 14,000 housing units in 11 Shingal - a move he described as “a historic decision that restored justice.” Nearly 2,000 deeds, including 224 allocated to female survivors, will be distributed in the coming days, he confirmed.

The Iraqi premier further announced that some 100 billion Iraqi dinars (around $76.4 million) had been allocated for the implementation of 89 reconstruction projects in Shingal and its surrounding areas for the years 2023 - 2024. Work has begun on 23 of those projects, he said, to create conditions necessary for the return of displaced residents.

Despite Iraq’s formal declaration of victory over ISIS in 2017, more than 21,000 Yazidi families remain in displacement camps, primarily in the Kurdistan Region’s northern Duhok province. Their return is chiefly hindered by unresolved security concerns and the continued presence of various armed groups in Shingal.

Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani called on Baghdad to shoulder full responsibility for the area’s security and development and “no longer allow Shingal and Yazidi areas to become arenas for militia tensions and armed groups.”

“We stress the importance of implementing the agreement between the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Iraqi federal government to normalize conditions in Shingal,” President Barzani said, referencing the Shingal Agreement.

Signed in October 2020 with the backing of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), the Shingal Agreement aims to expel non-state armed groups from the Yazidi heartland and restore stability and governance to the area.