News Center- A conference of Yazidi women took place at the European Parliament in Brussels on January 30, 2024. At the conference, Yazidi women discussed the genocidal attacks against the Yazidi community, the genocide commited by ISIS against the Yazidi community in Shengal (Sinjar) in 2014, the building of an autonomous administration in Shengal, the returns to Shengal and the ongoing attacks on Shengal.

At the conference, Yazidi women demanded the United Nations and the International Criminal Court (ICC) to take action and the official recognition of the tragedy experienced by the Yazidi as a genocide. The final declaration of the conference has been released. “International efforts are a must to rescue thousands of Yazidi women and children held captive by ISIS. The safe return of the Yazidis, who were forced to leave their homes in 2014, must be ensured,” the final declaration said.

The declaration called on the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP or PDK) to stop preventing the Yazidis from returning to Shengal, “We call on all international powers to support the compensation of war damages, the clearing of mines planted by ISIS and armed groups and the reconstruction of Shengal.”

In the declaration, the Yazidi women demanded an investigation be launched into countries, especially Turkey that support ISIS. “The ongoing impunity is not only a shame but also paves the way for new genocidal attacks.

“We congratulate the countries that have recognized the genocide of Yazidis by ISIS and call them to stop the attacks of the Turkish state and we call on the United Nations and the European Parliament to investigate the crimes committed against the Yazidis in 2014 and prosecute those responsible for the genocide of Yazidis.”

The declaration also called on the UN, the Iraqi government and the European Parliament to cancel the agreement signed by the Turkish state, KDP, and the Iraqi government on October 9, 2020, seeing it as a continuation of genocide and femicide and to seek a solution with the Yazidi organizations and institutions in Shengal.

“We call on the UN Women and the UN Commission on the Status of Women to conduct an investigation into the countries where Yazidi women and children were trafficked and to declare August 3 as an international day against femicide. We call on the countries that have already recognize the genocide against Yazidis to ensure the right of the Yazidis to self-determination within the borders of Iraq.”

The declaration also called on UNESCO to add the cultural and historical remains of the Yazidis to the world heritage list.

“Yazidism should be officially recognized in the world, especially in Iraq.”