Ten years after the horrific genocide, the wounds of the Yazidi community continue to bleed, and the survivors still suffer from the aftermath of this tragedy. The Lalish Foundation expresses deep gratitude to the people and government of Kurdistan for shouldering our heavy burden and alleviating our pain and suffering.
On August 3, 2014, ISIS terrorists launched an attack on the Sinjar region with the intent of annihilating the Yazidi population, who form the majority of Sinjar’s inhabitants. As a result, thousands of girls, women, men, and children were abducted, and dozens of mass graves now hold the remains of hundreds of victims. In addition, homes were looted, and villages and communities were destroyed.
It is regrettable that the blood still flows from the wounds of this crime against humanity, and every Yazidi individual, regardless of their location, continues to suffer from the aftermath of this tragedy. No fundamental solution has been found for the wounds inflicted by the genocide and the pain it has left behind. The Lalish Center believes that the key elements of such a solution include:
1. Facilitating the International Criminal Court’s investigation to classify this crime as genocide and ensure justice is served.
2. Enacting laws to prevent takfirism (declaring others as non-believers) and hate speech, with severe punishments for those guilty of such acts.
3. Ensuring Yazidi participation in all executive, legislative, and judicial bodies based on the principles of social justice.
4. Creating a safe and healthy environment that provides job opportunities and meets the aspirations of the youth.
5. Normalizing the situation in Sinjar, eliminating political conflicts and armed phenomena, implementing the Sinjar Agreement, and working towards elevating Sinjar from a district to a governorate.
6. Reconstructing Sinjar and other Yazidi areas, and implementing strategic projects in these regions.
7. Adopting an advanced education policy from kindergarten to university level, aiming to establish a solid foundation for creating a civil society and nurturing open-minded, productive individuals who respect cultural diversity and acceptance.
8. Encouraging Islamic religious leaders to declare the shedding of Yazidi blood as forbidden, and spreading this message through mosque platforms and media channels to correct misconceptions about Yazidis as monotheistic believers.
9. Organizing annual international conferences by universities in federal Iraq and the Kurdistan Region regarding genocides committed against the Kurdish people in general and Yazidis in particular.
We express our boundless gratitude to the people and government of the Kurdistan Region, who, from the first day until now, have shouldered our heavy burden and alleviated our pain and suffering as a humanitarian and national duty. The liberation of Sinjar and the defeat of the ISIS myth by the heroic Peshmerga under the leadership of the esteemed leader Masoud Barzani, the rescue of more than 3,000 Yazidi captives from ISIS by the office of the respected President of the Region, Nechirvan Barzani, and the unlimited support of the respected Masrour Barzani, Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, for the Yazidi community, especially the survivors of ISIS captivity, deserve the respect and gratitude of every Yazidi individual and patriot.
May paradise be the resting place for the martyrs.
Freedom for our mothers, sisters, fathers, and brothers whose fate remains unknown to this day.
Lalish Cultural and Social Center / Duhok
August 2, 2024