Latest news with #FirstInternationalScientificConferenceonYazidis
Shafaq News
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Shafaq News
No pardon for genocide: Yazidi MP slams Iraq's Amnesty Law
Shafaq News/ The Yazidi community is still concerned over the country's General Amnesty Law as it could lead to the release of ISIS members involved in crimes against Yazidis, Iraqi lawmaker Vian Dakhil revealed on Tuesday. During a panel discussion on the sidelines of the First International Scientific Conference on Yazidis at the University of Duhok, Dakhil noted the Sinjar Agreement has yet to be implemented due to what she described as 'a political will in Baghdad that opposes it,' adding that 'the Yazidi file and Sinjar are not considered a priority by the federal government.' 'Yazidi lawmakers in parliament had called for the establishment of a reconstruction fund for Sinjar, but while billions of dinars were allocated to a similar fund for Dhi Qar, only a minimal amount was assigned to Sinjar,' she pointed out. The MP also indicated she had submitted a draft law to the Iraqi parliament recognizing the atrocities committed against Yazidis as genocide. Still, the legislation has not been passed, and the federal government has yet to officially recognize the events as genocide. Dakhil also expressed further concern that the recently passed amnesty law was approved despite opposition from Yazidi lawmakers. 'The law was passed based on the principle of majority imposing its will on the minority,' she said. On January 21, Iraq's Council of Representatives passed several controversial laws, including amendments to the General Amnesty Law, the Personal Status Law, and the Restitution Law. ISIS seized Sinjar and its surrounding areas—home to a predominantly Yazidi population—on August 3, 2014, committing mass killings of men and abducting more than 5,000 women and girls, many of whom were enslaved. Many survivors have been freed over the years, but many remain missing.
Shafaq News
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Shafaq News
Erbil presses Baghdad to act on Sinjar deal
Shafaq News/ The Kurdistan Regional Government reaffirmed its commitment to implementing the Sinjar Agreement with the federal government, Interior Minister Rebar Ahmed affirmed on Tuesday. During the First International Scientific Conference on Yazidis held at the University of Duhok, Ahmed pointed out that the Sinjar Agreement aims to remove armed groups from the district, restore security, stability, and the rule of law, and provide a framework to facilitate the return of displaced Yazidi families to their homes. 'We hope that the federal government will take full responsibility to ensure the presence of a legitimate local administration,' he said. In 2017, following rising tensions between Baghdad and Erbil after the Kurdistan independence referendum, Iraqi forces and the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) took control of the district. Since then, the PKK, which opposes Ankara, has established a loyal faction known as the Sinjar Resistance Units (YBS), which continues to operate in the area and receives funding from the Iraqi government as a unit affiliated with the PMF. To address the instability, Baghdad and Erbil reached the Sinjar Agreement on October 9, 2020, aiming to normalize the situation in the district through joint administrative, security, and service arrangements. However, officials in the Kurdistan Region say political obstacles have prevented the agreement's full implementation. Despite the deal, clashes have occasionally erupted between competing forces in the area; the latest occurred on March 18 between Iraqi army forces and fighters from YBS, resulting in the arrest of five YBS members.
