Iraq – Commemoration of the genocide against the Yazidi community (4 August 2024)

On the 10th anniversary of the genocide committed by Daesh against the Iraqi Yazidis, our thoughts are with the bereaved and all the survivors of the massacres. France has not forgotten. It condemns the acts of genocide perpetrated by Daesh against the community, and Daesh’s mass, systematic use of rape as a weapon of war.

France remains fully committed to fighting impunity for the crimes committed by Daesh. It reiterates that the perpetrators of these crimes must be tried. France will continue to participate in efforts to strengthen international criminal justice and the defence of victims’ rights.

France also supports the victims, including through the fund for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence, of which it was the leading contributor and on whose board of directors it sits, alongside Nobel Peace Prize winner Nadia Murad.

Thanks to the action on the ground of UNITAD, the United Nations’ special investigative team tasked with gathering evidence so that Daesh answers for its crimes, along with Iraq’s national and local authorities, significant progress has been achieved for justice to be done. France is making active efforts to ensure this work can continue and is doing everything in its power for the United Nations to go on fighting impunity for the perpetrators of these crimes.

France backs the efforts of the Iraqi authorities to support, protect and allow the return of displaced populations to Sinjar. It calls for the full implementation of the 2020 Sinjar Agreement.

In Iraq, France remains mobilized in support of the Yazidi community. Since 2018, the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs has financed over 20 humanitarian action and stabilization projects in Sinjar for the Yazidi community through the fund to support victims of ethnic and religious violence in the Middle East. One of these projects, the French hospital in Sinjar – a result of President Macron’s pledge to Nadia Murad in 2018 –, will be completed in 2024. This medical centre will make it possible to support the return of displaced populations to Sinjar through the provision of essential healthcare.