Sema
Statement
To the Public Opinion, International Organizations, Agencies, and the Embassies and Consulates accredited to the Federal Republic of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region,
As you are aware, the Ezidi community was subjected to one of the most horrific genocides of the modern era. Just days ago, we marked the eleventh anniversary of that heinous crime, yet the Ezidis continue to suffer from the traumas of what they endured, and their wounds are still bleeding. Instead of the federal government taking the necessary steps to heal these wounds as a national and humanitarian duty—by facilitating the process for the International Criminal Court to resolve the case of the Ezidi genocide so that justice can take its rightful course, and by preparing the grounds for normalization in Shingal and enabling the dignified and safe return of the displaced—we sadly see it resorting to dubious measures.
Through the Ministry of Migration and Displacement, which has failed in its duty toward the displaced since the very first day of the genocide until now, the federal government issues, from time to time, provocative decisions that only deepen the suffering and frustration of the displaced. The most recent decision—to close the file on displacement by the end of this year, and to consider the remaining displaced persons, tens of thousands of families living in camps in the Kurdistan Region, as “integrated” into their current places of residence and severed from their original areas in Shingal—is particularly alarming.
We at Lalish Cultural and Social Center express our deep concern and disapproval of this unjust decision, as it carries dangerous implications related to demographic change and circumvention of the Iraqi Constitution, particularly Article 140 concerning disputed territories, including Shingal. Therefore, we call upon the relevant authorities in the federal government, the Kurdistan Regional Government, and the international community to reject any decision that contravenes the legitimate rights of our people and to work together to create a safe and stable environment that ensures a free and dignified life for the Ezidis and all other communities of the Nineveh Plain.
In conclusion, we extend our sincere gratitude and appreciation to the Kurdistan Regional Government for its tremendous efforts in providing the basic necessities of life to our displaced families, after the Federal Ministry of Migration and Displacement has abdicated its fundamental national and humanitarian responsibilities in this regard.
Lalish Cultural and Social Center
August 21, 2025