The Yezidi Genocide: An Evolution of Harm

Abstract

The genocide of the Yezidis of northern Iraq by Da'esh (Islamic State) is a result of an evolution of harm perpetrated on this ethnic minority group over a long period of time, rooted in the lack of protection for ethnic minorities in Iraq. Da'esh continues to pursue its persecution of Yezidis till this day, and around 2,800 Yezidis remain assimilated into Da'esh families, existing under genocidal conditions. Yezidis are a little-known group in Iraq, whose plight is forgotten in their own country. According to Yezidi lore, they have been subjected to numerous genocides before the most recent one in 2014. Yezidis place the 2014 genocide on a continuum of centuries of persecution in the region, which have all but been forgotten. This chapter situates these episodes of persecution in the context of the 2014 genocide that resulted from the rise to power by Da'esh in eastern Syria and northern Iraq amid the Syrian civil war. Da'esh, having established a Caliphate or Kingdom in northern Iraq and Syria in 2013, gained territory in northern Iraq and committed genocide on the Yezidis in 2014. It continues to operate elsewhere despite losing all its territory in northern Iraq, commanded by its 5th Caliph who took over on August 3, 2023. As Da'esh continues its genocidal policies against Yezidis, who are considered kuffars (non-believers), the 2014 Yezidi genocide, already only one among a long line of genocides, may not be the last