On Yezidi New Year, SRSG Kubiš Calls for Continued Efforts to Win Freedom of Kidnapped Women and Children, for Accountability for Crimes Against Yezidis

“This occasion marks the first time since 2014 that you celebrate with Iraq free of Dae’sh’s murderous machine which has been defeated by the courage, martyrdom and the unity of the people of Iraq and by the determination of the Yezidi people to prevail, to survive. Yet, this joy remains incomplete while many of the thousands of the Yezidi women and children kidnapped and enslaved by the terrorist group are still not back with their loved ones. It will remain incomplete without justice and accountability for the crimes against Yezidis. It will remain incomplete while so many Yezidis cannot return voluntarily to their homes to live there in safety and dignity.”



“On this day, we remember the victims of Daesh’s genocidal crimes who perished in Dae’sh’s systematic attempt to annihilate the Yezidi community. We salute the resilience of a community which withstood one of the world’s worst atrocities. We continue to call for continued efforts to locate and win the freedom for the missing Yezidi women and children. We continue to support all relevant authorities in Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region, in ensuring the full accountability for crimes against Yezidis in the recent tragic period.



The Yezidis, like all Iraqis, deserve to live in peace and dignity after years of conflict, after this another attempt to exterminate them. Now all conditions need to be put in place by the Iraqi and Kurdistan Region authorities, assisted by the international community, so that they can return home and embark on rebuilding their ancestral towns and villages, live in security and peace with their neighbours in a united Iraq that is proud of and determined to protect and promote its religious and ethnic diversity,” concluded the SRSG.