On Tuesday, 2 July 2024, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani attended a ceremony in Erbil to announce a financial support programme by which 3,000 women and girls, as survivors of the so-called Islamic State (ISIS), will receive a monthly allowance.
In his speech, the Prime Minister emphasised that despite a decade passing since the tragic massacre of the Yazidis, the situation in Sinjar has not been normalised due to the presence of militias and illegal armed groups. He stressed that these groups have prevented the people from leaving refugee camps to return to their homes, thereby delaying reconstruction efforts in their areas.
Prime Minister Barzani reiterated his support for the legitimate demands of the Yazidi people, stressed that the state of emergency in Sinjar must end, and that the Sinjar agreement must be implemented fully. He stated, “the militias and illegal forces in the region must be removed so that we can rebuild the region and restore power to the indigenous people of Sinjar, with support from the Iraqi federal government and the international community”.
Furthermore, he noted that with international support to investigate the crimes, efforts have been made to establish a special tribunal for prosecuting ISIS terrorists for the crimes they committed against humanity. These efforts however are not adequately supported by the federal government.