Marking the eleventh anniversary of the genocide against the Yazidi people by the so-called Islamic State (IS) in Iraq, German Green Party representatives are advocating for a pathway to permanent residency for Yazidi community members in Germany.
In a joint statement released Saturday evening, Green Party parliamentary group leader Katharina Dröge and the group’s spokesperson for human rights policy, Max Lucks, recalled the events of eleven years ago when IS initiated a campaign of systematic annihilation against the Yazidi population in Sinjar, northern Iraq.
The statement acknowledged the recognition by the German Bundestag in 2023 of these atrocities as genocide, a recognition that comes after thousands of innocent lives were lost and countless women and children were subjected to sexual violence, abduction and enslavement. According to the statement, the trauma and shock of these actions continue to deeply affect the community.
Highlighting that Germany is home to the world’s largest Yazidi diaspora, Dröge and Lucks emphasized the importance of providing a “safe haven and a new home” for those who have fled persecution. They strongly opposed the deportation of asylum-seeking Yazidi families, stating that such actions are inhumane and represent an unacceptable undermining of the rule of law, particularly when they disregard legal injunctions.
As a response, the Green Party parliamentary group announced the initiation of a legislative draft aimed at providing Yazidi individuals affected by the genocide with a long-term residency permit in Germany. This measure is intended to prevent the possibility of deportation to the region where they experienced persecution and enable them to live in peace, freedom and dignity, the statement asserted. Dröge and Lucks urged the German government to acknowledge and fulfill its unique responsibility toward the Yazidi people.
