The Yazidi identify themselves as a religious community with a long history in the Sinjar region of what is now northern Iraq. Lalish is their holy city, located in Iraqi Kurdistan. Due to the genocide starting in 2014 and prior persecutions, over 200,000 now live in refugee camps inside Iraq. A similar number managed to seek refuge in other countries.

The Yazidi believe in one God and his seven angels. Elements from nature are also central in their beliefs. The sun is the most important symbol and is referred to as “the light of God”. Some elements in their religion have parallels to Christianity and Islam.

ISIS is a terrorist group that follows a fundamentalist, Salafi-jihadist doctrine of Sunni Islam. The group has been declared a terrorist organisation by the United Nations.. The group was defeated in 2019 on their unrecognised “state” territory inside e.g. Syria and Iraq. Fragments of ISIS are still carrying out terrorist activities.

A UN investigative committee has concluded that the terror group ISIS systematically tried to eradicate the Yazidi as a religious group. The mass atrocities it committed against the Yazidi therefore qualify as a genocide according to the definition of the UN Genocide Convention. Starting with the Sinjar massacre in August 2014, ISIS has killed and captured thousands of Yazidi men, woman and children. Almost half a million Yazidi have been displaced. By 2020, dozens of mass graves had been discovered. Around 200,000 Yazidis still live in refugee camps in Iraq. Almost 3,000 women and girls are still missing. The Yazidis who have returned to the Sinjar region lack vital services such as healthcare and education, and many have lost their homes.

The Sinjar massacre, which began on 3 August 2014, marked the start of ISIS’ genocide and abduction of thousands of Yazidi men, women and children. Within a few days more than 3,000 were killed and more than 6,000 taken hostage. Thousands of Yazidi fled into the Sinjar mountains and remained there for days. Many children were among those who died from heat, dehydration and hunger before the international community and regional forces came to their rescue.

According to the UN Genocide Convention of 1948, genocide refers to violent crimes committed against a group with the intent to destroy it based on, for instance, religious or ethnic identity. This intent to destroy such a group differentiates genocide from other crimes, such as crimes against humanity, which refer to widespread or systematic attacks against civilians.