Baghdad and Shengal: Exclusion and Marginalization

On 22 January 2025, the Iraqi parliament passed a law known as the “General Amnesty Law,” which grants amnesty to detainees convicted or accused of various crimes, including fighting alongside armed groups and participating in operations and attacks targeting Iraqi forces, civilians, and U.S. forces.

The amnesty law encompasses thousands of prisoners who were arrested between 2004 and 2018 on charges of belonging to al-Qaeda, ISIS, and other jihadist groups, along with participating in attacks and acts of sabotage. It will also include hundreds of individuals who committed crimes of murder and enslavement against the Yazidi Kurdish community during the ISIS attack on the Shengal (Sinjar) district in August 2014, which resulted in the deaths, injuries, and abduction of thousands of Yazidi civilians. The law allows for the release of those convicted and accused of crimes still under investigation or trial, and it permits the review of death sentences.

In a statement, the Autonomous Administration of Shengal condemned the amnesty law, characterizing it as an amnesty for horrific terrorist crimes committed by ISIS. They argued that the law reopens deep wounds for the Yazidi community, which continues to suffer from the aftermath of the genocide experienced in the summer of 2014. The statement emphasized that the Yazidis affected by the ISIS attack were looking to the Iraqi parliament for justice through the prosecution of the criminals involved in the assault on Shengal.

Yazidi activist and politician Hussein Haji stated that the Kurdish-Yazidi community in the Shengal district is extremely dissatisfied with the stance of the political blocs that voted in favor of the amnesty law, especially since the Iraqi parliament continues to refuse to acknowledge the genocide committed against the Yazidis in 2014 by ISIS. Haji pointed out that while 13 countries around the world have recognized the Yazidi genocide, the Iraqi parliament remains unwilling to confront the details of this genocide, let alone acknowledge it or hold accountable those responsible, thus denying justice to Iraqi Yazidi citizens.

Simultaneously, Sunni political blocs have announced that they will hire lawyers to manage the cases of detainees and convicts, seeking to benefit from the general amnesty law to ensure the release of as many individuals as possible. These detainees, who number in the thousands, are predominantly Sunni and hail from the provinces of Nineveh, Anbar, and Salah al-Din. The Iraqi parliament had previously voted on an amnesty law on August 15, 2016, which allowed detainees and convicts to submit requests for retrial; however, it required the approval of a special committee from the Judicial Council for the retrial to proceed. In contrast, the new amnesty law allows for retrials upon filing a request by the convicts without needing the approval of a special committee.

With the Iraqi parliament passing a general amnesty law that includes the release of hundreds involved in the killing, enslavement, and displacement of Yazidis—while condoning the crimes committed against them as a result of the ISIS attack in August 2014, and refusing to legally recognize the Yazidi genocide—the negative stance of the Iraqi authorities (the political blocs in parliament and thus the government) toward the Yazidi community becomes apparent. This reflects a desire to neglect the issues facing Yazidis and their areas, deny them justice, and continue upholding longstanding discriminatory policies against them. Due to Baghdad’s evident negative attitude, the suffering of the Yazidi community is set to persist, as their demands for victim compensation, securing Shengal, ensuring the return of displaced persons, and achieving justice through the prosecution of those responsible for the genocide remain unresolved.

Regarding the issue of returning displaced individuals to their areas, the Iraqi government continues to procrastinate and refuses to implement the provisions of the plan announced by the Ministry of Migration and Displacement on 24 December 2024. This plan aimed to return more than 10,000 displaced families living in camps in the Kurdistan Region to their original homes in Shengal throughout 2024. Officials within the ministry have rejected providing the allocated amount of 4 million Iraqi dinars (approximately 3,000 US dollars) to each displaced family that chooses to return from the refugee camps in the Kurdistan Region to Shengal, while also failing to supply essential household items.

The Iraqi government maintains a strict policy toward the Kurdish-Yazidi community and the Shengal district, characterized by a refusal to acknowledge the genocide suffered by the Yazidis. This policy includes failing to provide compensation and incentives that would encourage displaced Yazidis to return to their original areas. Additionally, there is a clear delay in the reconstruction of the region and in securing essential infrastructure, such as road networks, schools, hospitals, bakeries, electricity and water services, as well as the rebuilding of houses and buildings that were destroyed during operations to liberate the area from ISIS.

It appears that the current policies implemented by the central government are part of the so-called “Baghdad Agreement,” which was signed by Baghdad and the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) under Turkish auspices on 10 October 2020. This agreement aims to normalize the situation in the Shengal district and oversee administrative and military matters by forming a joint committee composed of administrative and military representatives from both Baghdad and Erbil, completely excluding the Autonomous Administration and its associated Shengal Resistance Forces. It is evident that the focus on military and security issues, combined with the ongoing conflict between Baghdad and Erbil over regional management and control, contributes to the marginalization of the Yazidis and the Shengal district.

In addition to Baghdad’s deliberate neglect of the Shengal issue and the Yazidis, Turkish pressure represents one of the primary reasons for the discriminatory policies against Shengal and its inhabitants. Following Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s visit to Baghdad in April 2024, Ankara succeeded in pressuring the Iraqi government to issue further unjust decisions against the Shengal district and the Yazidis. These measures included severing ties with the Autonomous Administration and civil society organizations and refusing to cooperate with district representatives on the development of projects and reconstruction programs in the region. On August 6, 2024, the Iraqi government issued a decree banning the Yazidi Freedom and Democracy Party, the Democratic Struggle Front, and the Kurdistan Community Freedom Party, citing their alleged ties to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

Since 2015, Turkey has conducted hundreds of airstrikes using warplanes and drones against infrastructure in Shengal, as well as against the Shengal Resistance Forces, security forces, and police. Ankara has also established espionage networks and recruited local informants to gather on-the-ground intelligence, enabling Turkish intelligence to eliminate dozens of civilian and military figures in Shengal (including Zeki Shengali, Said Hassan, Bir Jako, Dajwar Fakir, Zardasht Shengali, Marwan Badal, Manal Mardin, and others). The Turkish state is attempting to dismantle the model of self-administration in Shengal through ongoing bombardments of infrastructure and targeting political and military leaders to create an atmosphere of fear among the population. This strategy aims to prevent collaboration with the administration, obstruct the return of tens of thousands of Shengal residents currently in camps in Dohuk and other cities in the Kurdistan Region, perpetuate instability and insecurity in the district, and hinder reconstruction efforts (see: Tariq Hemo: “Shengal in the Crosshairs of Turkish Fire,” Kurdish Centre, October 31, 2024).

The general amnesty decision, which will release hundreds of criminals involved in the attack on Shengal and the killing and enslavement of Yazidis, along with the ongoing refusal to recognize the Yazidi genocide and the entitlements that should follow—such as compensation and reconstruction programs—suggests that the Iraqi government and political blocs in parliament are committed to a new/old policy of excluding and marginalizing the Yazidis. This is particularly evident in their acquiescence to Turkey’s influence in sidelining the Yazidis, treating the Autonomous Administration and local forces that protect the community as a security threat, and collaborating with Ankara to prosecute and harass Yazidi officials and military personnel.

Moreover, this approach indicates a determination to impose discriminatory and unjust laws on the Yazidis that contradict the principles of true citizenship. Such policies contribute to keeping the Shengal district and its Yazidi population under ongoing Turkish bombardment, obstructing construction and reconstruction efforts, and hindering the return of tens of thousands of displaced individuals to their villages. Ultimately, this prolongs the suffering of the Yazidis and pushes them toward considering emigration, leaving their homeland and Iraq altogether.