ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani on Sunday said his government has launched several key projects for the country’s Yazidi community as they commemorate the eleventh anniversary of the genocide against their people at the hands of the Islamic State (ISIS).

Speaking at a ceremony held in commemoration of the genocide, Sudani said that they had launched several projects in the Yazidi heartland of Sinjar “to support the settlement and stability of its residents, provide job opportunities, and commit to eliminating the negative effects of the genocide.”

According to a statement from the premier’s media office, the Iraqi premier said that they had issued “directives and prepared legislative proposals to guarantee the rights of the Yazidi community.”

“We issued orders to establish a special museum in Sinjar to raise awareness of crimes against the Yazidi community,” the Iraqi premier added.

On August 3, 2014, ISIS militants took control of Sinjar, the heartland of the Yazidi community, launching a brutal campaign involving killings, abductions, genocidal rape, and forced conversions of the ethno-religious minority.

More than 5,000 Yazidis were killed in the ISIS campaign, and over 6,000 others, mostly women and children, were abducted and sold into sexual slavery. Thousands of abducted Yazidis still remain missing.

In October 2020, Erbil and Baghdad signed the Sinjar Agreement, aimed at normalizing the situation in the Yazidi heartland.

The agreement outlined that the federal government would oversee security operations in Sinjar in collaboration with the KRG, while Nineveh's local administration would manage public services. It further mandated the removal of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) elements and other armed factions from the district, transferring control to the federal army and police. However, nearly five years since its ratification, the agreement has yet to be implemented.

In a statement on Sunday, tThe EU delegation to Iraq on Sunday urged authorities in Baghdad and Erbil to put the Sinjar Agreement into action to facilitate the return of displaced Yazidis, while also demanding justice and accountability for the crimes committed by ISIS.

Sudani on Sunday also said that they had directed the construction of residential complexes for the Yazidi community in Sinjar, as well as a university in the town.

“These projects will contribute to creating conditions for the return of the displaced in cooperation with United Nations agencies and the Kurdistan Region,” he said.