Recovering from Genocide: The Yazidis’ Return to Sinjar

Since 2014, when ISIS launched its genocidal campaign against the Yazidis—a minority ethno-religious group within the Kurdish-majority areas of Iraq, Syria, Iran and Turkey, as well as in Armenia–hundreds of thousands of Yazidis have been displaced from their native home in the Sinjar region of Iraq.The U.S. government remains deeply invested in helping stabilize the Sinjar region and making it a viable home again for the displaced Yazidis. As USCIRF has consistently reported, Sinjar is not yet a hospitable environment for the Yazidi people. The United States and wider international community have a role to play in encouraging all stakeholders—including Yazidis and authorities in both the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Iraqi federal government—to help this vulnerable religious minority to safely return to Sinjar.Co-Founder and Managing Director of The Zovighian Partnership, Lynn Zovighian, joins us today to discuss the challenges the Yazidi community and the Sinjar region continue to face as new stages of the genocide unfold.With Contributions from:Susan Bishai, Policy Analyst, USCIRFVeronica McCarthy, Public Affairs Associate, USCIRF