Persecution of Yazidis

Persecution of Yazidis
source
Name	Yazidis
Caption	Lalish temple, religious centre of the Yazidis
Region	Kurdistan Region, Iraq; Syria; Turkey; Armenia; Georgia; diaspora

Persecution of Yazidis

Yazidis, an ethno-religious community concentrated in Iraqi Kurdistan, Sinjar District, Kobani, Duhok Governorate and diasporic communities in Germany, Sweden, United Kingdom, and United States, have faced recurrent targeted violence, forced conversion, sexual slavery and mass displacement. Persecutions have involved actors including the Ottoman Empire, British Raj-era mandates, successive Iraqi regimes such as Hashemite Iraq, Ba'athist Iraq under Saddam Hussein, and non-state armed groups such as Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), as well as regional militias and transnational networks. International institutions including the United Nations Security Council, European Court of Human Rights, International Criminal Court and NGOs like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have documented abuses and shaped legal and humanitarian responses.

History

Historical accounts place Yazidi communities in the Nineveh Plains, Mount Sinjar, Kurdistan Region, Mardin Province and the Caucasus, where they interacted with polities such as the Safavid dynasty, Ottoman Empire, Qajar Iran, British Mandate for Mesopotamia and later nation-states like Republic of Turkey and Iraqi Republic (1958–1968). Recorded persecutions occurred during episodes including the Sheikh Ubeydullah revolt, sectarian campaigns in Mosul Governorate, and communal violence associated with the Kurdish–Turkish conflict (1978–present). Travelers, consuls and missionaries of the 19th century such as Austen Henry Layard and officials linked to the Ottoman Tanzimat reforms documented massacres, forced migrations and property confiscations affecting Yazidi villages. Intercommunal tensions also intersected with conflicts like the Italo-Turkish War and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in the aftermath of the World War I and the Treaty of Sèvres negotiations.

Persecution during the Ottoman Empire

Under the Ottoman Empire, Yazidis experienced episodic violence during periods of centralization and local power struggles such as the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878), population movements tied to the Armenian Genocide era and reprisals connected to uprisings like the Kurdish Revolt (1925). Local tribal leaders, provincial governors and irregular forces aligned with entities like the Hamidiye cavalry conducted raids, enforced taxation and instigated massacres in districts near Mardin, Van Province, Aleppo Vilayet and Mosul Vilayet. Ottoman archival correspondence, reports by representatives of the British Foreign Office and accounts from missionaries such as Samuel Baker record forced conversions, abductions and destruction of religious sites including shrines in Lalish and other holy places.

Persecution under Ba'athist Iraq and Saddam Hussein

In the era of Ba'athist Iraq, state policies under Saddam Hussein targeted minorities in campaigns including the Al-Anfal Campaign and Arabization programs in the Kirkuk Governorate and Nineveh Governorate. Security services such as the Iraqi Intelligence Service and military units executed village clearances, deportations and property expropriations affecting Yazidi populations around Sinjar and Shekhan District. International actors including the United States Department of State and NGOs documented disappearances, torture and internment in the context of counterinsurgency operations and population-control measures implemented during the Iran–Iraq War and the post‑1991 uprisings following the Gulf War (1990–1991).

2014 ISIL genocide and contemporary violence

In August 2014, Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant launched an offensive in Sinjar and surrounding areas, resulting in mass killings, systematic sexual enslavement, forced conversions, and the abduction of thousands of Yazidi women and children; these events were investigated by entities such as the UNITAD and documented by United Nations Human Rights Council reports. The crisis prompted military responses including humanitarian evacuations by People's Protection Units (YPG), airstrikes by the United States Central Command and campaigns by the Peshmerga and Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). Survivors and prosecutions later appeared in tribunals associated with the Iraqi High Tribunal, regional courts in the Kurdistan Region and efforts at the International Criminal Court. International legal determinations, including findings by the United Nations Commission of Inquiry and parliaments such as the United Kingdom Parliament and the United States Congress, described ISIL atrocities as constituting genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

International recognition and legal responses

Responses have included United Nations Security Council resolutions, investigative mandates by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and accountability measures promoted by the International Criminal Court and ad hoc mechanisms such as the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism (IIIM). National bodies including courts in the Federal Republic of Germany, the French Republic and the Republic of Iraq have pursued prosecutions for war crimes and sexual violence. Legislative recognitions of genocide and genocide-related crimes were enacted by parliaments in the Swedish Riksdag, Canadian Parliament, Australian Parliament and the European Parliament, while NGOs like Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the International Rescue Committee have provided documentation and advocacy. Financial assistance and resettlement programs were coordinated among organizations including the UNHCR, International Organization for Migration, United Nations Development Programme and bilateral partners such as the United States Agency for International Development.

Displacement, refugee crises, and recovery efforts

Mass displacement produced internal displacement camps in Duhok Governorate, Erbil Governorate and transit populations in Syria and Turkey, with refugee resettlement routes to Germany, Sweden, Netherlands and Canada. Humanitarian operations were implemented by IOM, UNHCR, World Food Programme and faith-based groups including Catholic Relief Services and Lutheran World Federation to provide shelter, psychosocial care, family reunification and reparations. Reconstruction and reconciliation programs have engaged the Kurdistan Regional Government, Government of Iraq, international donors such as the European Union and civil-society actors, while truth-seeking, memorialization and survivor-led initiatives coordinate with universities like University of Oxford, Harvard University and regional institutions to document testimonies and support legal claims.

Category:Yazidi people