Shafaq News/ The Prime Minister of the Kurdistan region, Masrour Barzani, on Friday welcomed the Luxembourg parliament's recognition of ISIS crimes against the Yazidi Kurdish minority as a "Genocide".
"Yesterday, the Luxembourg Parliament recognized ISIS crimes against the Yazidis as genocide," he tweeted, "I strongly welcome this decision."
"This declaration helps bring a greater sense of accountability for a community longing for security and the return of their ancestral homeland," he added.
"As we mourn as a nation still for what was lost during the recent ferman, we’ll strengthen our efforts to reunite every Yazidi with their community and bring perpetrators to justice; support displaced families, and continue to call for the normalization of Sinjar," he concluded.
Yesterday, the Luxembourg Parliament formally recognized the Islamic State ISIS killing, persecution, and crimes against the Yazidis as genocide.
"The formal recognition of the Yazidi genocide was passed unanimously today, November 9, 2022, and represents an important step forward in the Yazdi community’s justice and accountability efforts," the statement said.
"We sincerely thank the Luxembourg Government and Parliament for their ongoing support of the Yazidi community and their efforts to address Da’esh’s human rights violations," the statement added.
In November 2015, the United Nations described the attack on the Yazidis as a possible genocide.
In 2016, the EU, US, UN, and UK parliament recognized the Islamic State's killing of Yazidi Kurds as genocide.
In 2018, Armenia recognized the Islamic State genocide of Yazidis in Iraq.
In 2021, the Netherlands and Belgium officially recognized the Islamic State's killing of Yazidis as genocide.
In July 2022, Germany’s lower house of parliament recommended that German lawmakers recognize the Islamic State killing of Yazidis as genocide.
The Yazidis are an ancient religious minority in eastern Syria and northwest Iraq that Islamic State viewed as supposed devil worshippers for their faith that combines Zoroastrian, Christian, Manichean, Jewish, and Muslim beliefs.
In August 2014, the Islamic State militants attacked the Sinjar district in northwest Iraq, home to hundreds of thousands of Yazidis.
Thousands of Yazidi women were raped and murdered, with many survivors sold into sexual slavery and taken away to other parts of Iraq, Syria, and even further afield. Men and boys were systematically murdered, forced to work for the group, or coerced into becoming child soldiers.
It is estimated that 3,000 Yazidis were killed over a period of several days, and 6,800 others were abducted.
Although several thousand Yazidis have been rescued over the past few years, another 3,000 remain missing, according to official statistics.
Islamic State's depredations also displaced most of the 550,000-strong Yazidi community.
