Swiss parliament recognizes Yazidi genocide, bans Hezbollah
Shafaq News/ On Tuesday, the Swiss Parliament formally recognized the 2014 genocide ISIS committed against the Yazidi minority, with 105 lawmakers voting in favor, 61 against, and 27 absent.
This recognition aligns Switzerland with similar decisions made by Britain, Germany, Canada, the Netherlands, the European Parliament, and various UN bodies that have classified ISIS crimes against Yazidis as genocide.
The Yazidis, a Kurdish-speaking minority, were persecuted by ISIS after the group overran large swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq beginning in 2014.
On August 3, 2014, ISIS militants seized control of Sinjar. According to statistics, approximately 1,290 Yazidi civilians were murdered, and since then, more than 70 mass graves and numerous individual graves have been discovered in Sinjar.
In another context, Swiss lawmakers approved, in the same session, a ban on Lebanese Hezbollah. The vote passed with 126 in favor, 20 against, and 41 abstentions, following earlier approval from the National Council.
The Swiss government opposed the ban, with Justice Minister Beat Jans cautioning during the debate, “If Switzerland starts banning such organizations under specific laws, we must ask ourselves where and how we draw the line.”
Despite government reservations, the parliamentary security committee assured that Switzerland’s role as a mediator would remain intact under specific provisions in the law relating to peace talks and humanitarian aid.
The decision follows a similar move last week when the Swiss Parliament banned Hamas in response to its October 7, 2023, attacks in Israel. Previously, Switzerland had only outlawed Al-Qaeda and ISIS, both listed as terrorist organizations by the United Nations.
