UN Iraq SRSG calls for solutions to Yazidi IDP’s difficult conditions and commends their resilience

The Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Iraq and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), Dr. Mohamed Al Hassan, visited the Khanky Camp for Internally Displaced Persons from the Yazidi community in Duhok Governorate, Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

He toured the facility, met with residents and with camp management to hear their concerns and needs, and to view the IDPs’ living conditions. Yazidis have endured difficult living conditions in Khanky, a sea of white plastic canvas tents and makeshift structures, since they were forced to flee their homes in Sinjar, Ninewa Governorate, during the onslaught of Da’esh/ISIL on the area in 2014. He also met with a number of Yazidi children who were born in these temporary camps, knowing no other place.

Dr. Al Hassan called for urgent and swift action on this important humanitarian file. “These conditions should not continue. What is at stake is human lives. Such a situation should not continue.” The SRSG stressed the international community's confidence in Iraq's ability to provide better care for all its people, especially those who have suffered from Da’esh's crimes.

Sinjar, among other places, was a scene of some of the worst atrocities committed by Da’esh in 2014-2017 conflict.  Ten years since the crimes against Yazidis and seven years since the territorial defeat of Da’esh, more than 200,000 Yazidis remain displaced in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, many in IDP camps like Khanky, their return home held up by a number of factors, including the destruction wrought on their homes in Sinjar, unstable security conditions as well as lack of adequate services. Some have returned, but without sufficient support and services they need to lead dignified normal lives, let alone the over 2,600 Yazidis who, according to international statistics, are still missing.

Unlike Sinjar, where security is a main topic, at Khanky the living conditions for Yazidi IDPs were the priority. One man said, “Iraq is a beautiful country, but life here is not good”. Another complained about the delay in the distribution of kerosene, fuel needed for heating in winter, a third said the schools lack adequate staff and space.  A 15-year-old girl said she barely remembers Sinjar. “I remember a little. I was very young when we left,” she said.

The SRSG also visited the Yazidi Temple at Lalish in Duhok Governorate, where he met with Prince Hazem Tahseen Saeed, the Yazidi prince in Iraq and the world and Head of the Yazidi Supreme Spiritual Council. He heard from the Prince calls for action to end the suffering of the Yazidis, emphasizing the community’s love for and belonging to this country.

Dr. Al Hassan paid tribute to the resilience of the community, reiterating the need for intensified efforts to close this file. “What happened to the Yazidis was one of the terrible episodes in history. But despite all the killings and suffering the community went through, Yazidis can be proud that their resilience has saved their traditions and their way of life, as we witness today in Lalish. The United Nations will continue to support the Yazidis’ humanitarian needs, their return to their homes, and work with the Government of Iraq on the reparations for the victims and survivors and accountability for the crimes committed by Da’esh against them.”