Letter to Officials – Missing Yezidi Women & Children
The letter below is a joint effort from Ewelina Ochab, Knox Thames, the Free Yezidi Foundation, and Nadia’s Initiative to prompt concrete action to rescue missing Yezidis. The letter has been signed by a number of individuals and organisations, as listed below.
Dear Secretary of State of the United States, Antony Blinken;
Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom, The Rt Hon Dominic Raab MP;
President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen;
Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs (France), Jean-Yves Le Drian;
The Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs (Germany), Heiko Maas;
President of the European Council, Charles Michel;
Minister for Foreign Affairs (Canada), Marc Garneau,
We, the undersigned individuals and organisations, write respectfully to urge you to take decisive steps to locate the 2,763 Yazidi women and children who have been victims of forced or involuntary disappearances and are missing for seven years. There are decisive steps that the international community could, and must, take to aid the discovery and safe return of these persons. We have a moral imperative to offer whatever leadership and support we can to end this horrific situation.
As many governments and international institutions recognised, Daesh’s murderous actions against the Yazidis constituted genocide and crimes against humanity. Their 2014 attacks on Sinjar and the Ninevah Plains forced thousands of people to flee. Thousands more were abducted: boys forced to become child soldiers, and women and children sold into sex slavery. The number of those killed by Daesh is still not known. Mass graves continue to be discovered.
Seven years after the genocide, it is a travesty that the Yazidi women and children remain missing and their fate unknown. If they are alive, they continue to be enslaved and subjected to daily abuse. Despite findings of genocide and repeated pronouncements expressing concern for Yazidis, the international community has failed to organise any effort to locate these kidnapped individuals.
We respectfully ask that you, individually and together, take the initiative to organise a search for the missing Yazidi women and children. We understand many of the missing may have perished, but we have a moral responsibility to find the living and provide closure to the families of those murdered. Therefore, we call upon you to work together with allies to ensure that the missing Yazidi women and children are accounted for, partnering with like minded governments, the United Nations, the Yazidi community as well as NGOs and experts.
While the situation is complex, there are concrete actions that would aid the search and make a substantial difference for those who are still trapped, and their families. Therefore, we call upon you to:
Work with partners to conduct an official search to identify the whereabouts of the missing women and children, including in the Al-Hol camp in Syria where many are believed to be held;
Work with local partners to free all Yazidi women and children who are alive and ensure that the remains of those killed are returned to their families and given a dignified and honourable burial.
Now is the time to put words into action. While Yazidis face many challenges, organising a search for abducted women and children is tangible, workable, achievable, and long overdue. We call upon you to demonstrate the moral leadership and courage necessary to push global action in the face of genocide.
Should you have any questions, please contact Dr Ewelina U Ochab, Knox Thames, Pari Ibrahim, Abid Shamdeen.
Yours sincerely,
Dr Ewelina U Ochab, co-founder of the Coalition for Genocide Response
Knox Thames, Senior Fellow at The Institute for Global Engagement, former U.S. Special Advisor for Religious Minorities at the State Department
Pari Ibrahim, Founder and Executive Director, Free Yezidi Foundation
Abid Shamdeen, Executive Director, Nadia’s Initiative
with
Lord Alton of Liverpool, UK House of Lords
Baroness Helena Kennedy QC, UK House of Lords, Director of the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute
Brendan O’Hara MP, UK House of Commons Kirsten Oswald MP, UK House of Commons
Baroness Caroline Cox, Independent Member of the House of Lords and Founder President of Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust (HART)
Indarjit Lord Singh of Wimbledon, Director Network of Sikh Organisations UK
Nadine Maenza, Chair, U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom
Baroness Caroline Cox, Independent Member of the House of Lords and Founder President of Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust (HART)
Indarjit Lord Singh of Wimbledon, Director Network of Sikh Organisations UK
Professor Mukesh Kapila CBE, Professor Emeritus, Global Health & Humanitarian Affairs, University of Manchester
Archbishop Angaelos, Coptic Orthodox Archbishop of London, Founder and director of Refcemi
Professor John Packer, Director of the Human Rights Research and Education Centre, University of Ottawa
Professor Greg Stanton, Founder of the Genocide Watch
Zachary D. Kaufman, J.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor of Law and Political Science and Co-Director of the Criminal Justice Institute, University of Houston Law Center
Christine Robins, Professor of Kurdish Studies, University of Exeter
Andrew Copson, Humanists UK
Mia Hasenson-Gross, Executive Director of René Cassin
Aarif Abraham, barrister at Garden Court North Chambers
Neville Kyrke-Smith, National Director, Aid to the Church in Need (UK)
Rachel Miner, Executive Director, Bellwether International
Dr Amy Austin Holmes, Public Policy Fellow, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
Igor Cvetkowski, international expert on Reparations for Human Rights Violations and Land and Property restitution
Dr Bojan Gavrilovic, Head of Program for Rights and Justice at the Jiyan Foundation for Human Rights
Erin Rosenberg, lawyer and researcher
Maung Zarni, Free Rohingya Coalition
Wai Wai Nu, Founder of the Women’s Peace Network
Chris Seiple, President Emeritus, Institute for Global Engagement
Greg Mortenson, author and humanitarian worker
Neville Rochow QC, barrister and scholar
Catherine Morris, lawyer (non-practicing), Victoria, Canada; Associate, Centre for Asia Pacific Initiatives, University of Victoria
Farahnaz Ispahani, Senior Fellow, Religious Freedom Institute and former Member, National Assembly of Pakistan
Guley Bor, lawyer and researcher
Toby Cadman, barrister and head of Guernica 37
Vanessa Hernández, International criminal law and human rights lawyer
Ibrahim Anli, Executive Director of the Rumi Forum
Scott Morgan, President, Red Eagles Entreprises
Lauren Homer, President, Law and Liberty Trust International
Dr Jianli Yang, President, Citizen Power Initiatives for China
Father John Anderson, President, Saint Nicholas Freedom Group
Alessandro Luparello, human rights advocate
Dr Sam Rushworth, academic and peace advocate
Dr James Smith CBE, Aegis Trust
Emily Prey, Senior Analyst, The Newlines Institute of Strategy and Policy
Fadi Daou, co-founder, Adyan Foundation
Dr George R. Wilkes, Senior Research Fellow, School of Security Studies, King’s College, London
Loan Vo, coordinator, Buddhist Solidarity Association
Susan Taylor, Church of Scientology National Affairs Office
Jan Jan Maran, Co-founder & Executive, Global Movement for Myanmar Democracy
Accountability Unit
A Demand For Action
ADO Alevi Philosophy Center
Association Aegis Trust
Assyrian Policy Institute
Bellwether International
Christian Solidarity Worldwide
Citizen Power Initiatives for China
Coalition for Genocide Response
Coalition for Just Reparations (C4JR)
Coordination des Associations et des Particuliers pour la Liberté de conscience Coptic Solidarity
Church of Scientology National Affairs Office
DAK Organization
Father’s touch
Free Yezidi Foundation
Genocide Watch
Gesellschaft für bedrohte Völker e.V./Society for Threatened Peoples
Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
Global Minorities Alliance
Greek Genocide Resource Center
Hawar Help
Humanists UK
Human Rights Concern – Eritrea (HRCE)
International State Crime Initiative (ISCI)
Jiyan Foundation for Human Rights
Minority Rights Group International
Montreal Institute for Genocide Studies
Mosaic Middle East
Nadia’s Initiative
Religious Freedom & Business Foundation
Refugees International
René Cassin
Revealing Light Ministries
Rumi Forum
Saint Nicholas Freedom Group
Set my people free
Sinjar Academy
The America Team for Displaced Eritreans
Yazda
YES Yezidi Emergency Support
Yet Again
