In a significant move, the Swiss parliament has officially recognized the atrocities committed by the Islamic State (ISIS) against Iraq’s Yazidi community as constituting genocide. The motion, passed on Tuesday, condemns the systematic expulsion, rape and murder of Yazidis, and the destruction of their cultural sites.
The majority of the Swiss National Council voted in favor of the bill, with 105 lawmakers supporting recognition of the genocide and 61 opposing it. The parliament’s statement emphasized the need for international reparations and justice for victims.
The ISIS attack on the Yazidi heartland of Shingal in August 2014 resulted in an estimated 5,000 deaths and the abduction of 6,417 women and children, who were forced into sexual slavery and labor. The United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da’esh/ISIL (UNITAD) has classified the attack as clear evidence of genocidal intent.
Switzerland joins several other countries and bodies, including the European Parliament and a United Nations Commission of Inquiry, in recognizing the ISIS crimes against Yazidis as genocide. The National Assembly of Armenia,the Australian parliament, the Canadian parliament, the United States House of Representatives and the United Kingdom are all considering motions on the Yazidi genocide.
Kurdish leaders have consistently condemned the atrocities and stressed the need for justice and reparations for the victims. Efforts to support the Yazidi community are ongoing, including international rescue missions and initiatives to reunite abducted Yazidis with their families. The Kurdistan Regional Government and the Iraqi federal government are working together to return displaced Yazidis to their homes in Shingal (Sinjar) and provide them with necessary support through The Sinjar Agreement, signed to stabilize the Sinjar district and return displaced people.
This comes as Swedish prosecutors in December indicted a 52-year-old woman for crimes against humanity, genocide, and war crimes over accusations of enslaving Yazidi women in Syria between August 2014 and December 2016. On December 11, a Dutch court further convicted an ISIS member, Hasna A. for crimes against a Yazidi woman. Hasna A was charged with slavery, membership in a terrorist organization, promoting terrorist crimes, and endangering her minor son. There have been similar convictions in Germany.
