Yazidi Genocide Victims Offered Glimmer Of Hope For Justice – But Challenges Remain

A French national called Sonia Mejri will stand trial for her alleged involvement in crimes committed against the Yazidi community, a Paris court ruled in early July. Mejri is accused of having joined the Islamic State (IS) group’s so-called caliphate in Iraq and Syria, and participating in its genocidal campaign against the Yazidi religious minority group 11 years ago.

At that time, IS overran the Sinjar region of northern Iraq and carried out atrocities against the civilian population. The Yazidi people were subjected to murder, rape, enslavement and forced conversion to Islam. Approximately 12,000 Yazidis were killed or abducted by IS, and around 250,000 fled to Mount Sinjar where they faced near starvation.

The Paris court’s ruling follows the prosecution of several other people across Europe in recent years for their role in enslaving Yazidis. These developments have offered the Yazidi community a glimmer of hope for justice.

In 2021, for example, a former member of IS called Taha al-Jumailly was convicted of genocide and crimes against humanity. A court in Frankfurt, Germany, ruled that he intended to eliminate the Yazidis by purchasing two women and enslaving them. This was the world’s first trial concerning the Yazidi genocide.

More recently, in 2024, a Dutch woman known as Hasna Aarab stood trial in The Hague, Netherlands, for charges also related to the enslavement of Yazidi women. She was sentenced to ten years in prison. Then, in February 2025, a Swedish woman called Lina Ishaq was convicted of committing genocide, crimes against humanity and gross war crimes against Yazidis in Syria.

Despite the fact that the international community has been slow in prosecuting members of IS for their roles in the genocide, these cases are a positive development. But it should also be noted that they are the result of years of advocacy and campaigning by Yazidi organizations and activists.

The Free Yezidi Foundation and Nadia’s Initiative are just two examples of organizations that have been fighting for justice and reparation since 2014.

Notwithstanding these developments, and the fact that IS lost control of its territory in Iraq and Syria in 2017, there are still significant challenges facing the Yazidi community. One pressing concern is the whereabouts of the more than 2,000 Yazidis who are still missing.

A few Yazidi women have emerged from different locations in recent years, which has made families hopeful. But the missing elderly women are now presumed dead and many others are believed to have been killed by airstrikes in the international military campaign against IS. These people are thought to be buried in mass graves.

Another concern is linked to the detention camps in northeast Syria, where suspected members of IS are detained indefinitely. A 2024 report by Amnesty International indicated that hundreds of Yazidis are probably being held in the camps.

This can be explained by two factors. First, Yazidi women in these camps may avoid identification due to fears of being separated from their children born in IS slavery. Yazidi leaders have declared that children born to IS members are not welcome and could never be assimilated into Yazidi society.

Second, it’s possible that some Yazidis in the camps no longer know their identity due to prolonged captivity and exposure to radical views from IS members. Both factors may prevent many Yazidis from returning to their communities, compounding the long-term consequences of the genocide.

Persistent Security Challenges

The Yazidis also continue to face persistent security challenges, as they lack the necessary infrastructure and support to rebuild their home towns. More than a decade on, 200,000 Yazidis remain displaced, with the majority living in makeshift camps. These camps are mainly located in Duhok, a city in the autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

The Kurdistan regional government has been actively working to close down or merge the displacement camps in an attempt to encourage the displaced families to return home. But a lack of infrastructure, including access to water, and limited employment opportunities continue to hinder their return and resettlement.

Iraq’s federal government has said it will give 4 million Iraqi dinars (roughly £2,250) to each Yazidi family that returns home, as well as offering interest-free bank loans. But the compensation scheme has now been paused due to a lack of funds. Even when it was offered, the amount was not enough to help people rebuild their lives in places that are in ruins.

The presence of various armed groups supported by different states in the region also threatens the safety and security of the Yazidis. Sinjar’s rugged terrain and remoteness from political centers has long encouraged groups, including the Kurdish Workers’ Party and Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces, to establish transit routes there to support their allies in Iraq, Syria, Jordan and Turkey.

Sinjar is also a disputed territory, claimed by the federal government in Baghdad and the Kurdish regional government in Erbil. Clashes between local militia groups continue to destabilize Sinjar, leading to the re-displacement of some Yazidis who have only recently returned, while preventing many others from returning even if they wanted to do.

The trials of IS members have given Yazidis some hope for justice. But persistent problems since 2014 have made it hard for them to return to their hometowns, or feel safe if they do so. Until these things are dealt with properly, the same problems will continue in the years to come.

Busra Nisa Sarac, Senior Lecturer in International Security and Gender Studies, University of Portsmouth. She does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

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