Honourable Minister-President of Baden-Württemberg;
Dear Nadia, fellow speakers, ladies and gentlemen.
It is a great honor to join you today on this solemn yet significant occasion. We gather here for the inauguration of this memorial dedicated to the Yazidi genocide- a tragedy that struck our collective human conscience a decade ago. It is a day to honor the memory of those we lost, to stand in solidarity with the survivors and to renew our unwavering commitment to justice and accountability. Ten years ago, the world witnessed an unimaginable atrocity. Thousands of women and children were abducted, enslaved and subjected to the most heinous forms of sexual violence.
As the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, my heart aches with the sorrow of these memories. However, it is also fortified by the resilience exhibited by the Yazidi women I met in Germany in June 2017 during my very first mission after taking office. We stand here today in front of this memorial of remembrance and resilience to reaffirm our commitment to seek justice for these grave violations and to promise that the world will not forget. The bravery of Yazidi women like Nadia who have chosen to share their harrowing experiences publicly, has galvanized international resolve and action. Their stories are a beacon of courage and a call to action.
This memorial in Stuttgart in Baden Wurttemberg is extremely symbolic. I can say unequivocally that its Special Quota Project which allowed 1,000 Yazidi women and children to come to Germany saved lives and saved a people. It departed from the traditional model of asylum claims, permitting Yazidis to return to their homes in Iraq whilst maintaining their ability to remain in Germany. This approach sent a profound message – that Daesh could never dispossess the Yazidi people of their homeland whilst ensuring that the Yazidi people are guaranteed safety and security as and when they need it in Germany. Although not its primary purpose, the Baden Wurttemberg’s Special Quota Project has made the world a safer place from terrorist groups like Daesh. The survivors of the Special Quota Project have been among the first to assist jurisdictions globally to ensure members of Daesh face their day in court – as this memorial commemorates today. I recall vividly Nadia’s speech in Oslo when she won the Nobel Peace Prize. She expressed three requests on behalf of the Yazidi community, which were also the ones I heard from survivors of Daesh’s crimes, whilst on mission in Iraq. They were: justice, reparation and finding the missing.
Nearly ten years since the Sinjar attacks, accountability for Daesh’s sexual crimes remains elusive. While the national court is the first venue where accountability for crimes such as genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, should normally be sought, under Iraq’s legal system, these crimes are not prosecutable. While survivors of sexual violence demand that perpetrators be held accountable for the specific crimes they committed, perpetrators continue to be tried for terrorism, in which the State, not the Yazidis people are considered as the victims. This mobile exhibit about a mother and child bound by the scales of justice, commemorates the first Yazidi survivor that received a judgement against a member of Daesh, in a trial in Germany under the principle of universal jurisdiction. We know that discussions on legal reform about international crimes in Iraq such as war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide are ongoing. Those reforms are necessary and urgent and must be promptly enacted. Amendment to article 398 of the Iraqi Penal Code which allows perpetrators to evade responsibility for rape and other forms of sexual violence if they marry their victim, is also urgent.
On reparations, we must acknowledge the important steps taken by the Iraqi government with the enactment, in 2021, of the Yazidi Survivors Law, which my Team of Expert on the Rule of Law supported through technical advice. While noting that 1,600 survivors have already received pensions, we are also concerned about the hurdles in the full implementation of the law. Yazidi survivors who have endured unspeakable horrors, need comprehensive support systems-both material and psychological-to rebuild their lives. Medical care, psychological support, educational opportunities and economic empowerment are not luxuries but rights that must be upheld to facilitate healing and dignity. The provisions in the Yazidi Survivors Law on rehabilitation services from medical care and psychosocial support to education and vocational training, must be promptly implemented. Similarly, it is urgent that other important provisions of the law, like those related to the delivery of residential plots of land to survivors of Daesh crimes be promptly implemented so that Yazidis can return to Sinjar and other minorities can return to their ancestral homelands. In addition, there must be no barriers in the implementation of the law to prevent survivors living outside Iraq from these benefits.
Lastly, I would be remiss if I did not speak about the missing. There are presently 2,847 Yazidis that remain missing and that does not include individuals from other minority groups in Iraq like the Turkmen Shi’a and Shabak. There is grave concern that Yazidi children, including children born as a result of sexual violence, are among the missing and have no idea of their identity. The Yazidi community and other minority communities have the legal right under international law to truth about their loved ones. Those children, including children born as a result of acts of sexual violence, have a right to their identity under international law. There must be a renewed focus on the missing because there can be no justice without truth.
Before concluding, I want to pledge the support of my mandate, and the support of the United Nations system so that every survivor of Daesh’s sexual violence receives the justice she or he rightly deserves, no matter how long it takes. This exhibit is not just a marker of a dark chapter in history; it is a living symbol of our collective resolve – our commitment to ensure that justice is served and that such horrors are never permitted to reoccur. As the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, I reiterate that the fight against impunity and for the rights and dignity of survivors of sexual violence must remain a priority.
As we reflect upon the last ten years, we recognize the distance we have traveled and the journey that lies ahead. This memorial in Stuttgart stands as a promise – a promise that the world remembers, cares and will continue to fight for justice. Together we can transform sorrow into strength, memory into action and remembrance into a lasting legacy of peace and justice.