ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Monday called on the Iraqi federal government to implement the Sinjar Agreement to ensure the safe return of displaced people, during an event commemorating the 12th anniversary of the Yazidi genocide in Erbil.

On August 3, 2014, Islamic State (ISIS) militants seized control of the Yazidi heartland of Sinjar, launching a brutal campaign of killings, abductions, genocidal rape, and forced conversions of members of the ethnoreligious minority group.

“Unfortunately, more than 20,000 Yazidi families still live in camps,” Barzani said during his speech, adding, “I once again call on the federal government to assist in implementing the Sinjar agreement,” to ensure the safe return of the Yazidis. 

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 Kurdistan Regional Government (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, six years after its ratification, the agreement has yet to be implemented.

"As the Kurdistan Regional Government, we are ready to continue working with all our efforts and we call on the federal government to do the same," Barzani said. 

The premier also said the previous Iraqi government did not support efforts to establish a court that would prosecute ISIS militants responsible for crimes against the Yazidi community, expressing hope for more support in the future.

At least 18 countries, including Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium, Australia, and Switzerland, have officially recognized ISIS' crimes against the Yazidi community as a genocide.

“We must work to ensure that this crime is not repeated, not toward our Yazidi brothers and sisters, not toward our Christian brothers and sisters, and not towards our Muslim brothers and sisters,” Barzani said.

President Masoud Barzani also marked the ISIS genocide of Yazidis, saying the minority group was subjected to the “inhumane treatment of ISIS terrorists” and that they “must return with pride to the land of their forefathers, and compensation must be made for their losses and suffering.”

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 sex slavery.

“This area was liberated, but the crime hasn’t been forgotten,” the premier said.

The US Consulate General in Erbil also marked the genocide, remembering “those who were lost and honoring the resilience of the survivors who carry their memory forward.”  

“Justice for these atrocities matters.  So does ensuring lasting security, prosperity, and protection for vulnerable communities,” the consulate said.

According to the latest data from the rescue office, the whereabouts of over 2,800 Yazidis who went missing during the campaign remain unknown.

Additionally, 95 mass graves have so far been identified in the district, of which only 68 have been excavated, resulting in the extraction of 850 bodies. However, only 96 of the extracted bodies have so far been identified.