The massacre carried out by ISIS against the Yazidis (Êzidî) in Shengal on August 3, 2014, referred to by Yazidi s as the “74th Ferman” (Yazidi term for genocide), has since been recognized as genocide by many states, international organizations, and parliaments. During the attacks, 2,213 Yazidis were killed, 390,000 were forcibly displaced, and 7,000 were abducted. Additionally, 68 Yazidi places of worship were looted and thousands of women and children were enslaved or sold.
Following ISIS’s attacks in Shengal, 80 mass graves and dozens of individual graves were discovered. In a report dated June 15, 2016, the United Nations Human Rights Council confirmed that ISIS committed acts of genocide against the Yazidi s, noting that 400,000 Yazidi s were killed, and that women and children were enslaved and targeted for extermination.
Yazidi representatives, who describe the genocide recognition as having remained “only on paper,” emphasize the need to examine developments at the European and United Nations levels, as well as the course of legal proceedings related to this crime.
International recognition of the genocide
The 73rd Ferman, carried out by ISIS on August 3, 2014, has been recognized as genocide by the parliaments of several European states. The term “Ferman” is used by Yazidi s to refer to religiously motivated genocides committed against their community throughout history. In response to the atrocities, the United Nations established an Investigative Team to examine the crimes committed by ISIS. Within this context, it is important to focus on what actions have been taken at the level of European states and the United Nations regarding the 74th Ferman.
At the regional level, both the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the European Parliament have adopted resolutions calling for the prosecution of ISIS members through the United Nations Security Council and the International Criminal Court.
PACE points to the International Criminal Court for prosecutions
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted Resolution 2016/2529(RSP) regarding the systematic mass killings committed by ISIS against religious minorities. In paragraph B of this resolution, which was also adopted by the European Parliament, Yazidi s were mentioned alongside other ethnic and religious groups as having been specifically targeted by ISIS. The resolution stated:
“Many individuals have been killed, massacred, beaten, robbed, abducted, and tortured; enslaved (particularly women and girls, who have also been subjected to other forms of sexual violence); forced to convert; forcibly married; and trafficked. Children have been forcibly recruited. Mosques, monuments, shrines, churches, and other places of worship, as well as graves and cemeteries, have been destroyed.”
In the following paragraph C, the resolution refers explicitly to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and stated: “Genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, wherever and whenever they are committed, must not go unpunished, and effective prosecution must be ensured through national measures, strengthened international cooperation, and the mechanisms of the International Criminal Court and international criminal justice.”
European Parliament calls on UN Security Council
Following an initiative by the European People’s Party (EPP) Group, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe recognized the abuse and persecution carried out by ISIS against Yazidi s, Christians, and other religious and ethnic minorities as genocide. In the resolution, parliamentarians urged the United Nations Security Council to take action and officially recognize these crimes as genocide.
Swedish EPP Group Member of Parliament Lars Adaktusson, who launched the resolution in Strasbourg, stated:
“This is a historic decision. Elected representatives from 28 countries, speaking for more than 500 million people, have sent a clear message to member states, the European Commission, and the international community to act in accordance with the ‘responsibility to protect’ principle.”
Adaktusson also added:
“This resolution also aims to help restore the dignity of the millions of victims affected by the barbaric crimes of ISIS. It is also significant that this is the first time the European Parliament has recognized an ongoing genocide.”
The resolution emphasized that individuals who conspire, plan, incite, commit, or attempt to commit such crimes, or who are complicit in or support persecution on ethnic or religious grounds, must be prosecuted under international law, particularly for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.
UNITAD ended its mission while the genocide continued
At the United Nations level, the United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by ISIS (UNITAD) officially confirmed that ISIS had committed genocide against the Yazidi s.
On August 9, 2017, the Iraqi government appealed to the international community for support in holding ISIS members accountable for crimes committed on Iraqi soil. In response, the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2379, which established UNITAD. The team was mandated to collect, preserve, and store evidence of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and possible acts of genocide committed in Iraq, and to support national efforts to hold ISIS members accountable.
UNITAD operated in Iraq for six years and concluded its mission on September 17, 2024. Despite the ongoing attacks against Yazidi s and the fact that thousands remain missing, the decision to end UNITAD’s work in September 2024 was met with criticism from both the Yazidi community and the broader international community, as it prematurely terminated the process of investigation and evidence archiving.
At the state level, several countries officially recognized ISIS’s crimes against the Yazidi s as genocide:
The German Federal Parliament (Bundestag) on January 19, 2023, formally recognized the crimes committed by ISIS against the Yazidi s as genocide. The resolution (20/5228), jointly submitted by the governing coalition parties (SPD, Greens, FDP) and the CDU/CSU bloc, called for the acts of violence committed by the so-called “Islamic State” on Iraqi territory to be classified as genocide under the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. The resolution reminded that thousands of members of religious minorities were abducted, raped, enslaved, and murdered by ISIS.
Then Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Alliance 90/The Greens) emphasized that the resolution represented the stance of the entire country, stating:
“Germany, as a society, recognizes the genocide committed against Yazidi women and the Yazidi community.”
Although the Bundestag’s resolution included measures related to justice processes and support for victims’ testimonies, Yazidi representatives were not formally involved in the actual judicial proceedings.
On August 1, 2023, the United Kingdom officially recognized the genocide committed by ISIS against the Yazidi people in 2014. A statement on the UK Foreign Office’s official website noted:
“The United Kingdom officially recognizes five genocides: the Holocaust, Rwanda, Srebrenica, Cambodia, and the genocide committed against the Yazidi people.”
Belgium: On July 15, 2021, the Belgian Parliament unanimously approved a resolution, previously passed in the Foreign Affairs Committee, recognizing the massacres committed against the Yazidi people in Shengal as genocide and calling for the prosecution of the perpetrators. The resolution was initiated by MP Georges Dallemagne and supported by Koen Metsu, François De Smet, Malik Ben Achour, Michel De Maegd, Samuel Cogolati, Els Van Hoof, Goedele Liekens, Vicky Reynaert, and Wouter De Vriendt.
The Netherlands adopted a resolution in July 2021 formally recognizing the genocide committed against the Yazidi s.
Other countries that have recognized ISIS’s mass killings of Yazidi s as genocide include the United States, France, Canada, Australia, Switzerland, Scotland, Armenia, Portugal, and Luxembourg.
However, despite these recognition decisions at the state level, representatives of NAV-YEK (Confederation of Yazidi Associations in Germany) and SMJÊ (Yazidi Women’s Assembly) emphasized that these recognitions have remained largely symbolic and have had limited tangible effects. They noted ongoing gaps in practical implementation, particularly in witness identification, archival documentation, reparation mechanisms, and societal justice processes.
In summary, although numerous parliaments in Europe have passed resolutions recognizing the Yazidi genocide, no similar official recognition has been issued at the United Nations level by its member states. The UN has not issued a formal declaration of genocide. Despite the investigations and evidence gathering conducted by UNITAD, no international special tribunal has been established, and no prosecution has been initiated at the ICC.
Courts and prosecutions
Under the Rome Statute, which defines the jurisdiction of the ICC, genocide is classified as a crime. According to the Statute, “genocide” encompasses the following acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group:
a) killing members of the group;
b) causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
c) deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the group’s physical destruction in whole or in part;
d) imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
e) forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.
The primary jurisdiction over genocide lies with the ICC. However, Iraq is not a party to the Rome Statute, which means the ICC does not automatically have jurisdiction over crimes committed on Iraqi territory. As a result, the prosecution of ISIS for genocide has been hindered.
Despite legal avenues being available, Iraq has yet to submit an ad hoc referral to the ICC. This omission, combined with the absence of action from the Court, despite genocide recognitions from institutions such as UNITAD, the European Parliament, and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, has prevented further legal proceedings.
Although UNITAD, a United Nations entity, classified these crimes as genocide, and although the Security Council has the authority to refer the matter to the ICC, as it did in the cases of Libya and Sudan, no such step has been taken due to political vetoes.
In this context, NAV-YEK Co-Chair Sosin Kartal, SMJÊ Spokesperson Nujiyan Günay, and SMJÊ activist Xanê Agal all emphasized the urgent need to establish a special international court.
Special tribunals, such as those created for Rwanda, the former Yugoslavia, or Sierra Leone, have long been demanded by Yazidi civil society organizations. Though no such tribunal has yet materialized, it remains a vital path for prosecuting genocide and delivering justice.
Some countries applied universal jurisdiction
Countries such as Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and France have prosecuted certain members of ISIS through their own legal systems under the principle of universal jurisdiction. However, the exclusion of Yazidi civil society organizations from these proceedings not only weakened the evidence collection process but also hindered the identification and apprehension of perpetrators.
To date, nine individuals have been convicted in Germany. Three of them were sentenced specifically for the crime of genocide.
Taha al-Jumailly, an Iraqi ISIS member, was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Higher Regional Court of Frankfurt in November 2021 for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and human trafficking, all in connection with the Yazidi genocide. The case garnered international attention as al-Jumailly became the first person convicted specifically for committing genocide against the Yazidi s.
Jennifer Wenisch, a German national and al-Jumailly’s wife, was also implicated in the same crimes. Initially sentenced to 10 years in prison for crimes against humanity, her sentence was increased to 14 years in August 2023 following an appeal, which was later rejected in March 2024. She did not receive a life sentence.
Jalda A., a German ISIS member, was convicted in Hamburg in 2022 for participating in genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes for her actions against a Yazidi woman. She was sentenced to five years in prison.
Hasna A., a Dutch woman, was sentenced to 10 years in prison in the Netherlands for enslaving a Yazidi woman in Syria in 2015. This marked the first conviction in the Netherlands for genocide or crimes against humanity committed against the Yazidi s.
In Sweden and France, prosecutions have also been initiated against ISIS members on charges including crimes against humanity, enslavement, sexual violence, and complicity in genocide. Some of these trials have resulted in convictions, while others are ongoing.
Counterparts: Recognition of Shengal’s autonomy and an international court is essential
Sosin Kartal, Co-Chair of the Federation of Yazidi Associations in Germany (Zentralverband der Ezidischen Vereine e.V – NAV-YEK), described the convictions in Germany as “insufficient.” She stated that German judicial authorities have shown no willingness to include the Yazidi victims of genocide as observers or civil parties in court proceedings. Kartal emphasized the need for more comprehensive global investigations and accountability mechanisms through the International Criminal Court or a specially established genocide tribunal.
Human rights organizations such as NAV-YEK regard existing court rulings as only a starting point. They insist that true justice cannot be achieved without further verdicts, witness protection mechanisms, compensation systems, and proper archiving of information.
Sosin Kartal stated, “Although 14 countries, led by Germany, have officially recognized the Yazidi genocide, the victims are still being sent to camps. Even after 11 years, the Yazidi community’s wounds remain unhealed. Iraq must also recognize the genocide and fulfill its obligations. For example, recognition of Shengal’s autonomous status is part of that responsibility. Yet Shengal remains under attack and continues to face the threat of a new genocide.”
Xanê Agal, an activist with the SMJÊ, added: “The recognition of the Yazidi genocide is a result of the Yazidi people’s self-organization. Had the Yazidi community, especially the women, not resisted this genocide that unfolded before the eyes of the world, ISIS might have succeeded in its aim. Therefore, the self-organization of the Yazidi community is of vital importance.”
Agal commented further on the recognition and prosecution of the genocide. She said: “Genocidal attacks against us continue every day. To put an end to these attacks, our status must be officially recognized. Such recognition does not mean rejecting Iraq; on the contrary, it will strengthen Iraq’s democratic standards.
The Yazidi people demand recognition of their language, culture, faith, and will, within the current legal framework, as well as the right to self-govern. Yes, there have been some prosecutions in Europe, but punishing only a few individuals while failing to acknowledge the Yazidi community as an active subject of justice means refusing to confront the genocide.”