Securing Justice and Accountability for Yezidis
On Wednesday 25 March, the APPG on Women, Peace and Security, the APPG on International Law, Justice & Accountability, and British Group Inter Parliamentary Union in collaboration with the Free Yezidi Foundation & International Bar Association Human Rights Institute hosted a discussion on the process for security justice and accountability for Yezidis.
The discussion was informed by expert speakers: Pari Ibrahim, from the Free Yezidi Foundation, Sareta Ashraph, and FYF legal advisor & Garden Court Chambers, and Dr Ewelina Ochab, from the International Bar Association Human Rights Institute. Baroness Hodgson of Abinger chaired the discussion, providing opening remarks and welcoming each speaker.
In August 2014, Daesh (ISIS) attacked the Yezidis in Sinjar, unleashing what we now know to be a full-scale genocide against the ethno-religious minority community. Thousands of men and elderly people were killed, and their mass graves continue to be discovered to this day. Around 6,000 women and girls were taken away as sex slaves and still today more than 2,500 are still missing.
The last 11 years have seen some efforts to document the atrocities and bring the perpetrators to justice. However, recent months have seen new challenges that need to be addressed. Among others, in September 2024, UNITAD, the mechanism to collect and preserve the evidence of the crimes, was closed. Absence of public trials in Iraq and the closure of UNITAD have left many Yezidi survivors hopeless regarding prospects for justice and accountability.
The crimes committed by ISIS in Iraq are well documented and understood, however achieving justice and accountability has been difficult. Securing legal justice requires high levels of logistical coordination, including finding those responsible for crimes and bringing them to an appropriate jurisdiction. There is currently no specific process dedicated for prosecutors to gather the necessary information required for cases.
The UK has been slow on progress for pursuing accountability for crimes committed against the Yezidis. It should look to European counterparts, such as France, for examples of accountability mechanisms for those responsible for genocide and crimes against humanity. In the UK, trials cannot be held in absentia which creates challenges for accountability given that large numbers of perpetrators remain in camps in Iraq and Northern Syria, declining to be brought to the UK for prosecution. In March 2026, however, France held the trial in absentia of Sabri Essid, a French ISIS foreign fighter. This was the first trial in the country relating to the genocide against the Yezidis and, while held in absentia, it was an important milestone for victims and to ensure that discussion about who is responsible for the crimes committed against the Yezidis continues.
Despite challenges, policy makers, civil society and legal specialists are working to examine prosecutions for British foreign fighters who joined Daesh in Syria and Iraq and have since returned to the UK. After a long process of inquiry by Parliamentarians, the UK Government recently confirmed that less than 10% of those fighters who returned to the UK had been convicted for terror-related offences. The Government also confirmed that these prosecutions had been obtained without using evidence from UNITAD, despite the UK having invested in the UNITAD framework to gather evidence.
Parliamentarians and civil society questioning why the conviction rate is so low, and what precedent this sets for atrocity crimes. The Joint Committee on Human Rights published a report last year entitled ‘Accountability for Daesh crimes’ which was critical of UK responses of Daesh atrocities. Challenging impunity is crucial, as impunity for the past is an early warning sign for future atrocities being in the future.
There have been efforts to advance opportunities for prosecuting in the UK through an Amendment to the UK Crime and Policing Bill, however this did not receive support from the Government. As communities and civil society continue pushing the Government to make reforms, Parliamentarians were urged to table the Crime and Policing Bill Amendment where there are future opportunities to do so.
As a people Yezidis have suffered from centuries of misinformation and hatred, however there were times in which Yezidi communities lived with others peacefully. Organisations like the Free Yezidi Foundation are working to tackle root causes of violence against Yezidi communities, such as false narratives and stereotypes and they believe that outreach efforts happening now will support future generations. The Yezidi community deserves justice and accountability for the crimes committed against them. It was shared that Yezidi communities rely on international support, including from the UK Parliament and Courts and that this must continue.