10 YEARS AFTER THE GENOCIDE – OUR EVENT “RECOGNIZE. ACT. REMEMBER.” AT THE GERMAN BUNDESTAG

Together with the parliamentary group BÜNDNIS 90/ DIE GRÜNEN and MP Max Lucks (Spokesperson for the Committee on Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid), our human rights organization HÁWAR.help hosted an event at the German Bundestag to mark 10 years since the genocide against the Yazidis. Despite the time that has passed, there has been little meaningful reckoning with this crime against humanity.

The evening created a space for encounters and exchange at eye level between survivors and their families, civil society, and political decision-makers. “Recognize. Act. Remember.” – three panel discussions featuring genocide survivors, experts, and Members of Parliament opened the evening. Participants then had the opportunity to share experiences, current perspectives, and challenges at four themed discussion tables.

Max Lucks opened the event, stating: “A pain that will not be healed even after 10 years. As a German politician, I carry the pain of our inaction at that time.” Katrin Göring-Eckardt, Vice President of the German Bundestag, reminded the audience that Germany and the world were aware of the ISIS threat but failed to act in 2014: “We understood far too late that we bear this responsibility. That delayed action can never be undone.”

Düzen Tekkal, founder of HÁWAR.help, emphasized: “Every person has the right to a home – that includes the Yazidis. We need a nationwide deportation ban. That’s why we’re here today.”

Genocide Survivors and Experts Share Their Testimonies

In 2016, Duleem Ameen Haji fled from Daesh in the city of Mosul to Germany. He recalled the significance of the German Bundestag’s recognition of the genocide in 2023.

Prof. Dr. Jan İlhan Kızılhan, who works as a trauma therapist with Yazidis, reported: “The situation on the ground is not good. Every time I am in Iraq, in the camps, Yazidis ask me to plead with the German government not to deport their people back. Genocide is not only the physical annihilation of people. On a cultural level, the genocide continues. Yazidi children are no longer learning their language. If nothing changes, a 4,000-year-old community will cease to exist within three to four generations.”

Yazidis still cannot return to their homeland, and even in Germany — the country where they sought safety — there is now great uncertainty, especially due to the ongoing deportations of Yazidis.

Luise Amtsberg, Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Assistance, added: “We see the brutality and the stories behind these deportations. I find it deeply problematic to deport people to regions where they are in danger. Deportation to an IDP camp is not a return to a homeland or to a safe place.”

After the panel discussions, participants exchanged ideas at four themed discussion tables:

At the table “Creating Prospects for Staying – Finding Belonging in Germany,” Jana and Bascal shared how their family was torn apart by German authorities: the two sisters live in Bavaria, while their parents and two younger siblings were deported to Iraq. Jana and Bascal were temporarily allowed to remain because they are currently in vocational training. Yet Yazidis, as a vulnerable group, need a nationwide ban on deportations!

At the table “Implementing the Sinjar Agreement – Rebuilding the Region,” HÁWAR.help ambassador Jihan Alomar reported on her recent trip to Sinjar, highlighting how, even ten years after the genocide, dignified living conditions are still lacking – destroyed homes, no water, no electricity. Natia Navrouzov, Executive Director of Yazda, provided an update on the status of the Sinjar Agreement, the current security situation, the responsibilities of the international community and Germany, as well as the closure of IDP camps and its consequences.

At the table “Strengthening Criminal Prosecution – Delivering Justice,” attorney Natalie von Wistinghausen, who represented a Yazidi co-plaintiff in the trial against ISIS supporter Jennifer W., discussed the collection of evidence in Iraq, the end of the UNITAD mandate (the UN investigative team responsible for securing evidence in Iraq on crimes committed by ISIS), and the future of legal accountability in Iraq and Germany, including the Yazidi Survivors Law. She highlighted the difficulty of proving genocidal intent as one of the biggest challenges in these complex trials.

At the table “Supporting Historical Reckoning – Collective Memory,” Dr. Leyla Ferman, who leads the “FERMAN” project at the Foundation of Lower Saxony Memorials, spoke about how memory helps form identity. This applies to every community. Engaging with the Yazidi genocide also offers broader society a chance to reflect on its own values.

A heartfelt thank you to Max Lucks and the BÜNDNIS 90/DIE GRÜNEN parliamentary group for co-hosting this event! We are deeply grateful to everyone who made this evening of remembrance so insightful, informative – and most of all – full of hope.