Nechirvan Barzani: Justice Must Be Achieved for the Yazidis and the Perpetrators Punished

ARK News – Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani has urged the Iraqi government to give greater attention to the plight of the Yazidis, compensate them, and ensure that Sinjar is no longer left as a haven for militias, armed groups, and competing regional agendas.

Full Statement:

Today marks the eleventh painful anniversary of the Yazidi genocide. We solemnly honor the victims of this heinous ISIS crime and reaffirm our commitment to fully support our Yazidi citizens. Despite all the suffering, we look to the future with hope, working together to heal their wounds.

It is deeply distressing that, after eleven years, nearly half of the Yazidi population still lives in camps under harsh economic, social, and psychological conditions.

The Iraqi government must pay greater attention to its Yazidi citizens, provide them with compensation, and prevent Sinjar and other Yazidi areas from remaining a playground for militias, armed factions, and regional power struggles.

Trust, stability, safety, reconstruction, and essential services must return to Sinjar and all Yazidi areas. Justice must be served, and the perpetrators must be punished.

We reiterate the importance of implementing the agreement between the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Iraqi federal government to normalize the situation in Sinjar and protect it, and we call on the international community to support the Yazidis in every possible way.

We thank all countries that have recognized the Yazidi massacre as genocide, and we will continue our efforts to secure further international recognition.

We also express our gratitude to the International Coalition for its role in defeating ISIS. We assure our Yazidi brothers and sisters that we will always remain their protectors, and our office will continue working to free the abductees and uncover their fate for as long as even one Yazidi remains missing.

Glory to the memory of the Yazidi victims, to their resilience and steadfastness, and to all the heroic Peshmerga who, under the leadership of President Masoud Barzani, gave their lives to liberate Sinjar and protect all the peoples of Kurdistan and Iraq.

Nechirvan Barzani
President of the Kurdistan Region
August 3, 2025

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