From genocide to justice: Iraq's reparations for Yazidi survivors

On 3 August 2014, the Islamic State (ISIS, also known as ISIL or Da'esh) launched a coordinated attack on the Sinjar region of northern Iraq, home to much of Iraq's Yazidi community. Men and older women were killed, women and girls were subjected to sexual violence and enslavement, boys were separated from their families, indoctrinated and forcibly recruited. Religious sites, homes and livelihoods were also destroyed. In 2016, a United Nations commission of inquiry also concluded that ISIS had committed genocide against the Yazidis.

The full scale of the atrocities against the Yazidis is difficult to capture, and estimates vary. A peer-reviewed household study estimated that about 3,100 Yazidis were killed and 6,800 were kidnapped during the August 2014 assault, bringing the total to nearly 9,900 victims. The study noted that the actual number may be higher, as entire families have been killed or disappeared without anyone left to report their fate.

Iraq responded in 2021 by adopting the Yazidi Female Survivors Law No. 8, usually shortened in English to the Yazidi Survivors Law. The law marked an important step by formally recognizing the harm suffered by the survivors. The real test is whether the law is helping survivors rebuild their lives through accessible and effective reparations. While the law has brought important progress, particularly through monthly financial support, significant gaps remain in healthcare, education, housing, justice, reconstruction, and support for safe return.

The Sinjar attack and its consequences

ISIS deliberately sought to destroy the Yazidi community because of its religious identity. The crimes included mass execution, torture, abduction, forced conversion, rape and sexual slavery, the forcible transfer of children, and the destruction of cultural and religious heritage.

The effects of the genocide continued long after ISIS lost territorial control. Many Yazidi families remain divided between Sinjar, camps in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, and diaspora communities. In 2023, the United Nations and International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that more than 200,000 Yazidis remained displaced. The report identified destroyed infrastructure, limited public services, scarcity of basic necessities, and limited access to property documents as major obstacles preventing their return.

The effects of the genocide extend far beyond the immediate humanitarian crisis. Survivors continue to face social, political, and economic challenges. The loss of family members and community institutions has weakened social ties. Unresolved security and governance disputes in Sinjar have undermined confidence in the state. The destruction of farms and businesses has made it difficult for families to rebuild independent lives. Survivors of sexual violence and children with disputed legal status often face stigma and administrative barriers that deepen their harm. These lasting consequences raise an important question: what responsibility does the Iraqi state bear today to mend the damage suffered by survivors and help rebuild a community devastated by genocide?

What iraq's responsibility means

ISIS, not the Iraqi state, directly committed the genocide. Iraq's responsibility must therefore be understood in the context of its legal obligations. These obligations include protecting people within its jurisdiction, investigating serious crimes, prosecuting those responsible, searching for missing persons, and providing victims with an effective remedy. Article 2(3) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights requires states to ensure the victims have access to an effective remedy through competent authorities .

The United Nations' Basic Principles on Remedy and Reparation provide a useful way to understand what a complete response should contain. (https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/2021-08/N0549642.pdf)

Restitution: restoring rights, property, legal identity, and living conditions where possible.

Compensation: financial redress for physical, psychological, and economic harm.

Rehabilitation: medical care, psychosocial support, legal help, and social services.

Satisfaction: truth-seeking, recognition, memorialization, recovery of remains and public acknowledgment of wrongdoing.