ESU on Yazidi Genocide Remembrance Day: We affirm our commitment to autonomy for both Shigur and Nineveh Plains

BRUSSELS — On Sunday, August 3, 2025, the European Syriac Union (ESU) commemorated the 11th anniversary of the genocide committed against the Yazidi people in Shigur (Şengal / Sinjar), by ISIS terrorists. The atrocities led to the death, abduction, enslavement, and sexual violation of thousands of innocent civilians — including women and children — with many still missing to this day.

The genocide, recognized internationally after consistent efforts by the Yazidi people in global forums, is remembered as one of the darkest chapters of the 21st century. In a statement released on this occasion, the ESU stressed that despite more than a decade having passed, the pain remains fresh, and justice has yet to be served.

The ESU described the ISIS-led atrocities not only as unspeakable crimes but as part of a long history of systematic oppression and violence against the Yazidi people. “In 2014, Yazidis weren’t just forcibly displaced — they were subjected to a deliberate attempt to erase their identity, beliefs, and culture,” the statement said.

Recalling the events of August 3, 2014, the ESU detailed how ISIS besieged the Shigur (Şengal / Sinjar) region, attacked Yazidi villages, and massacred thousands. Women and children were captured, sold into slavery, tortured, and raped. Hundreds of thousands fled to Mount Shigur (Şengal / Sinjar), where they were trapped for days without food or water, while Yazidi temples and sacred sites were destroyed in a campaign to wipe out their spiritual and cultural heritage.

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The ESU also addressed the current state of the Yazidi people, emphasizing that the suffering continues. Hundreds of Yazidi women remain missing, with reports indicating that many are still being trafficked through secret slave markets across the Middle East. Thousands of survivors continue to live in dire poverty and insecurity in displacement camps in northern Iraq.

“The trauma inflicted on the Yazidi people is not only a tragedy of the past but an ongoing crime against humanity,” the ESU asserted. It called the Sinjar genocide one of the most horrific crimes of this century, carried out while the international community stood by in silence. “The massacre of the Yazidis is not just an attack on one people but an assault on the collective conscience of humanity,” the statement added. “Without justice, the wounds will never heal, and the peoples of Mesopotamia will remain at risk.”

The European Syriac Union called on the international community to hold ISIS perpetrators and those complicit in the genocide accountable in international courts. It also urged immediate action to uncover the fate of the missing Yazidi women and children, and to implement long-term rehabilitation and support programs for survivors.

The statement further called for the establishment of an international reconstruction fund for Shigur (Şengal / Sinjar), to facilitate the safe and dignified return of Yazidis to their ancestral lands. It advocated for the creation of a self-administration and defense mechanism to protect Yazidi identity, heritage, and faith. Additionally, the ESU pressed for the launch of emergency humanitarian initiatives to improve living conditions, education, and healthcare in the camps where Yazidis still live under harsh circumstances.

In closing, the ESU condemned the ideology that led to these atrocities and reaffirmed its solidarity with the Yazidi people. “We stand in full solidarity with the Yazidi people and reaffirm our commitment to continue the struggle for autonomy and protection for both Sinjar and the Nineveh Plains,” the statement concluded.