The systematic attacks on community and identity of the Yazidis by the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) In August 2014 resulted in the killing and enslaving of tens of thousands of men, women, and children. Five years later, the genocide is ongoing. Almost 3,000 Yazidis are still held captive while the majority of the community, 350 000 people, remain internally displaced. The security situation of the ancestral homeland of Yazidis, Sinjar, remains fragile. With the local administration of the district not re-established and amidst the presence of multiple security players, ongoing attempts by ISIS to re-infiltrate continue to cause serious harm. The future of the Yazidis remains under critical threat.

On August 1st, 2019, Yazda organised a Commemoration Conference for the 5th Anniversary of the Yazidi Genocide, bringing together over 200 government and diplomatic corps dignitaries, leaders and activists of civil society, Yazidi survivors, and friends of the Yazidi Cause in Baghdad. The current situation of the Yazidis and the need for Justice, Recovery, Reparations and Return, were addressed. As an outcome of the Conference, Yazda has collected 10 policy recommendations to secure a safe future for the Yazidi.

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