Director Kikoler Delivers Remarks on Nine-Year Commemoration of Yezidi Genocide
Remarks delivered by Naomi Kikoler, director of the Museum's Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide.
Remarks delivered by Naomi Kikoler, director of the Museum's Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide.
August 3, 2022 marked the eighth anniversary of attack by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant on the Yezidis of northern Iraq. Eight years on, the need for justice remains unabated. Thousands of Yezidis are still missing, their families in anguish.
A German court handed down the first conviction for genocide for an ISIL member’s crimes against Iraq’s Yezidi community.
Over six years have passed since the self-described Islamic State’s assault on Iraq and Syria, and its particular targeting of ethno-religious minority groups for killings, sexual violence, abduction, and torture, among other harms. In September 2020, the Simon-Skjodt Center held a briefing focused on reparations for victims and survivors of these crimes.
On the six-year anniversary of IS's devastating attack on the Yezidis, the Simon-Skjodt Center stands in solidarity with victims and survivors, and again calls for Iraq and the wider international community to identify and act upon early warning signs that could curb the risks of future violence.
Yazidis remains at physical risk and in search of justice six years after the genocide. The Museum convened a panel of experts to discuss these risks and the prospects for accountability.