6th Annual Commemoration of
The Yazidi Genocide
Bridging the Gap Between Terror & Humanity
This commemoration showcases a series of deeply-needed, blunt, and action-based keynotes and panels to tackle the many facets of the Yazidi cause: the ongoing security deficit; the indignity of IDP and refugee camps; the powerless right of return; the deprivation of socio-economic potential; the realities of deeply-rooted international injustice; and the strengths and fragilities of deeply human survivorship. Our speakers over the next few days include top government officials, foreign representatives and diplomatic emissaries in Baghdad and Erbil, local and international civil society representatives, and leaders of religious communities.
We have carefully documented all speeches and words of solidarity to the Yazidi Cause during this seventh-year milestone.
To view the transcripts of all speeches, plenaries, and panels:
Day 1 | Humanizing the Needs of the Yazidi Community and Other Minorities in Iraq: Security and Safety as Prerequisites to a Sustainable Future
August 2, 2020 | 16:00-20:00 Iraq time / 9:00-13:00 ET
Opening Keynote Speakers
Mr. Haider Elias
Co-founder & President, Yazda
Our heroes, your attendance is extremely appreciated and has brought more honor to this event. Our heroes are inspiring us every day, and all the incredible energy and force that drives our work today.
H.E. President Dr. Barham Salih
President, Republic of Iraq
Yes, indeed, there was a genocide perpetrated against Yazidis. [...] The criminals will be prosecuted for their horrendous crimes while the Yazidis and Iraqis will be remembered for their heroism and patriotism.
Ms. Farida Abbas Khalaf
Human Rights Activist and Member of the Yazidi Survivor Network
Justice for the victims of the genocide has not been served, and several perpetrators of these crimes are still free, not only in Iraq, but also in Syria, Turkey, Europe, and many other regions of the […]
Minister, Senior Foreign Policy Advisor to the President of Kurdistan Region, Republic of Iraq
Now, we need our international partners to work with us to ensure the political process in Iraq is on the right track and that the Peshmerga and the Iraqi forces work in lot step to eradicate ISIS from […]
H.E. Ambassador Matthew H. Tueller
Ambassador of the United States to the Republic of Iraq
Our support and that of the international community must be accompanied by progress to establish a local government and security mechanism that enjoys the full confidence and support of Yazidis. I urge […]
Special Advisor and Head, UNITAD
We're not talking about a historic crime as if everything is now looking at recovery and psychosocial support. Families still feel bereft. I have met survivor after survivor, and I am incredibly moved.
Panel 1 Speakers | Enabling the Safe Return to Sinjar - Part 1: Defining a Collaborative Action Plan
August 2, 2020 | 17:10-18:10 Iraq time / 10:10-11:10 ET
The Yazidi population has transformed in the last six years. What were once approximately 450,000 Yazidis living in internally displaced persons (IDP) camps in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, are now around 250,000, with so many who have fled the region, perhaps permanently. The calls for concrete and substantial action on the ground to ensure families can return to Sinjar with full safety and self-determination are long overdue. Today, Sinjar remains one of the unsafest and most destroyed areas in Iraq. Panelists will discuss opportunities for a collaborative action plan that brings together local, regional and central government entities, as well as the community of CSOs, diplomats, and international humanitarian agencies for Sinjar.
Mr. Toby Harward
Head Of Sub-Office For Mosul And Ninewa, UNHCR
There's so much critical work that needs to be carried out […] from both government entities at all levels, from civil society organizations and from the United Nations and other international humanitarian […]
H.E. Minister Evan Faeq Yakoub Jabro
Minister Of Displacement And Migration, Republic Of Iraq
Unfortunately due to the general financial situation in Iraq, as a minister, we have encountered these financial consequences. We have endured them and it was difficult for us to finance these small projects.
Mr. Mohammed Al-Tamimi
General Director Of The NGO Directorate, Republic Of Iraq
We are all encountering obstacles and challenges in Sinjar. And, we are really exerting efforts to address the main issues which will secure stability and security in Iraq and also which will secure […]
Panel 2 Speakers | Enabling the Safe Return to Sinjar - Part 2: Breaking Down the Complexities of Sustainable Security
August 2, 2020 | 18:10-19:10 Iraq time / 11:10-12:10 ET
Can we ask Yazidi families to return to their homes in Sinjar with no long-term and dependable stability and security? Center stage to recent Turkish airstrikes and the ongoing resurgence of Da’esh, Sinjar today offers no reassurance to its long-standing communities that the necessary political, economic, religious, and social assets and institutions are being rebuilt and safeguarded. Panelists will shed light on the further complexities and challenges brought about by recent geopolitical activity, calling for strong diplomatic action to instill lasting peace.
Mr. Saad Salloum
Director, Masarat Foundations and Founder, Iraqi Council for Interfaith Dialogue
… there are powers, there's this balance of powers between the armed factions in Sinjar with their different tendencies. And there is really unclarity regarding the return of displaced and refugees.
H.E. M.P. Saib Khidir
Member of Parliament, Republic of Iraq
Of course, there are three problems incorporated in the Yazidi cause and we are repeating them. There are administrative, security, refugee, and services problems. I do not know where to start, and […]
Ms. Reine Hanna
Director, Assyrian Policy Institute
Yazidis and Assyrians must be directly involved in shaping the policies that will determine their future, the government of Iraq and its international partners, namely the US must take urgent action to […]
Closing Keynote Speakers
Mr. Jean-Noël Bonnieu
Chargé D'affaires of The French Embassy, Republic of Iraq
We know that women, children and men of this community have endured atrocities, this is why France is continuing its commitment towards the Yazidi community. We have to honor our engagement in Iraq and […]
Mr. Harald Herrmann
First Political Secretary & Cultural Affairs Officer, German Embassy in The Republic of Iraq
Together with the United Nations and the Iraqi government, Germany is committed to bringing Da'esh criminals to justice, we fully support the […] work of the investigative team to promote accountability […]
H.E. Najat Vallaud-Belkacem
Former French Minister Of Education And Of Women's Rights
As educators, as parents, we have the duty to raise our children in the rejection of all fanaticism in absolute faith in the human rights and dignity of man and woman whatever their origins, beliefs […]
Mr. Murad Ismael
Former Executive Director, Yazda Organization and Yazidi Activist
What bring us today is really not only a Yazidi tragedy but, in essence, it is a human tragedy. We, as a human society, should commemorate, should reflect, and learn so that this does not happen again […]
Day 2 | Women and Justice: Pillars Of Post-Conflict Reconstruction and Peace-Building Processes
August 3, 2020 | 16:00-20:00 Iraq time / 9:00-13:00 ET
Opening Keynote Speakers
Ms. Lynn Zovighian
Managing Director, The Zovighian Partnership
Your genocide is our genocide, and I assure you that it might have been silent or it sometimes does feel silent on some days, but that silence is deafening and the voices of today are going to be ferocious.
Ms. Diana Amin Saleh
Human Rights Activist and Member of the Yazidi Survivor Network
The Iraqi people with all its components is now living in a very difficult situation after ISIS, and especially, after the outbreak of the Corona pandemic. However, the fate of the Yazidis, Christians […]
H.E. Ambassador Samuel Brownback
U.S. Ambassador at Large, International Religious Freedom
We've got to stand up as a global community and say that religious freedom as put forward in the UN Declaration of Human Rights is a protected right for everybody, everywhere, all the time, and the world […]
H.E. Ambassador Joanne Loundes
Ambassador of Australia to the Republic of Iraq
And recognizing the horrific events that had unfolded in Iraq, we made a deliberate decision and directed that the program needed to include a […] focus on Yazidi women who survived Da'esh captivity […]
Panel 3 Speakers | Supporting the Healing Of Da'esh Survivors Through Survivor-Centered Judicial and Non-Judicial Mechanisms
August 2, 2020 | 17:00-18:10 Iraq time / 10:00-11:10 ET
There have been notable victories with European and American parliaments, as well as international legislative bodies recognizing the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) atrocities against all communities in Iraq, including the Yazidi Genocide since Da’esh entered Sinjar in 2014. However, survivors continue to struggle to take former Da’esh militants to courts of law in their respective countries of origin. Panelists will debate the shortcomings and failures of justice towards the Yazidi cause, and propose survivor-centered judicial and non-judicial mechanisms to bring meaningful personal and community-wide closure to the acts of genocide and crimes against humanity that continue to inflict the Yazidis and other minority communities in Iraq and Syria.
Ms. Carmen Cheung
Executive Director, Center for Justice & Accountability (CJA)
Reparations are what ultimately make the individual and society whole. These can range from restitution and compensation for survivors to criminal prosecutions of perpetrators, and even transformative […]
Ms. Nasrin Hassan Rasho
Human Rights Activist and Member of The Yazidi Survivor Network
Six years have passed, and the government hasn’t established any council or committee to reach out to the displaced Yazidis, to collect their needs, to understand their suffering, and to discuss modalities […]
Dr. Mohammed Turki Alobaidi
Representative of the Ministry of Justice, Republic of Iraq
The Ministry of Justice is emphasizing the need to hold accountable the perpetrators and all those criminals. We are working on rebuilding national peace on promoting social and national integration and […]
Panel 4 Speakers | Empowering Women Through Inclusion in Post-Conflict Reconstruction and Peace-Building Processes
August 3, 2021 | 18:10-19:10 Iraq time / 11:10-12:10 ET
Key to the community extermination policy of Da’esh was the enslavement and sexual torture of Yazidi women and girls. Our panelists, including a survivor of Da’esh captivity and sexual enslavement who is now an empowered advocate, will present practical recommendations for the inclusion of women in post-conflict reconstruction and peace-building. The newly-established Yazidi Survivor Network (YSN) will also be presented as an example of how building healing communities of women and girls is crucial for survivorship and the preservation of the Yazidi community
Ms. Nadine Maenza
Commissioner, U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF)
The voices of Yazidi women are especially important to build a prosperous, safe community. Perhaps more than any other audience, those of you here today understand the profound horrors so many Yazidi women […]
Ms. Zinah Khallat Sulaiman
Human Rights Activist and Member of the Yazidi Survivor Network
Women must be empowered to be able to exercise their rights freely. Women are an integral part of life. […] As such, they have a role to play, and they have to be provided the needed opportunities and […]
Ms. Dashni Morad
Artist and Human Rights Activist
Now, if we want to continue [to] empower women, it's so important that we provide them with all of the tools they need for a long term, not just a handful group of Yazidi activists or activists in this […]
Ms. Katrien Coppens
Director of Programmes and Operations, Dr. Mukwege Foundation
It's a horrifying and effective tactic to terrorize, destabilize, and destroy entire populations. Beyond injury and disease, the psychological and social impacts of humiliation and shame are corrosive […]
H.E. Bayan Abdul Rahman
Head of The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Mission in Washington D.C.
I think all of us, all of us need to raise awareness of the importance of involving Yazidi women and women in general in post conflict, peace dialogue, and negotiations. Male mediators of course, need to […]
Closing Keynote Speakers
Archbishop Bashar Warda
Chaldean Catholic Archbishop of Erbil
Genocide needs accountability, ownership and repentance, as it heals not only the victims but those who inflicted it. The German nation healed themselves by acknowledging their Jewish genocide; they grew […]
H.E. Minister Theresa Schopper
Minister of State, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
We will continue our support for the women and children of the special quota project who have been living in Baden-Württemberg for over five years by now, and we will continue our support for justice.
H.E. M.P. Ola Möller
Member of the Swedish Parliament
Sweden has been one of the strongest advocates for tribunal to convict Da'esh members. A sustainable peace must be built on justice.Those responsible and those who have committed crimes […]
The Rt Hon. Lord Jack Mcconnell
Member of the Uk Parliament, House of Lords
So, I believe that justice and accountability are vital, not just for the survivors and those who have been killed in the Yazidi genocide, but also to prevent future genocides and ensure that others know […]
H.E. M.P. Michelle Rempel
Member of Parliament, Canada
The international community must also honor the Yazidi people by making permanent changes that currently discriminate against victims of genocide. The Yazidi genocide exposed weaknesses in the UN […]
Pre-Recorded Speeches
Cardinal Louis Raphaël I Sako
Patriarch, Babylon of the Chaldeans
The Yazidi genocide is a shameful act in our contemporary world. And we should take all measures against the perpetrators of this genocide. We, in Iraq, need a civil state that ensures that social justice […]
His Eminence Sayyed Jawad Al-Khoi
Director, Al-Imam Al-Khoi Dar Al-Alem in Najaf Chair, Unesco Inter-Religious Dialogue in the University Of Kufa
It’s important to remember the tragedies that took place, to confirm that there is a commitment from the Iraqi government and the international community to achieve justice for the victims of the genocide […]
Knox Thames
Formed Department of the State Official
We know what Yazidis want so terribly is accountability and unification of their families. Justice and peace literally go hand in hand. Bringing to justice those who committed these evil acts will dissuade […]