In the early hours of 3 August 2014, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) attacked Sinjar, the ancestral homeland of the Yazidis in northwest Iraq. ISIL launched a genocidal campaign against the minority group, causing over 90 percent of Sinjar’s residents to flee, including thousands who were forced to ascend the nearby mountain range on foot. Over the following hours and days, it is estimated that 3,100 Yazidis were killed, and over 6,400 others were abducted. In addition, ISIS killed approximately 2000 Shia cadets in central Iraq in the so-called Speicher Massacre. The armed group also targeted other groups, such as Shia, Shabak, and Turkmen.

On March 1, 2021, Iraqi Council of Representatives adopted the Yazidi [Female] Survivors Law (YSL), a pivotal transitional justice measure for addressing the legacy of mass atrocities committed by ISIL against the Yazidi as well as Turkmen, Christian and Shabak communities, including survivors of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV), mass killings, and abduction. Survivors’ Law provides official recognition to victims of genocide and other grave violations of international law and stipulates a wide range of state-sponsored reparation measures, including inclusion of accurate accounts of violations in education and media to reinforce public memory and commemorating the atrocities perpetrated against the Yazidi community and others. The main implementing body Directorate for Survivors Affairs (Directorate) for this legislation is established under Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MOLSA).

Since 2019, leveraging IOM’s global expertise in developing and implementing reparation programs, IOM Iraq has been providing support to the development of a reparation framework for survivors in Iraq. After adoption of the Draft Law, technical support to institutions and civil society has entered a new phase focused on strengthening capacity of the relevant institutions to implement the reparations program in line with best practices and international standards for state reparation programs; expanding participation of civil society and survivors in the implementation and monitoring of the reparation process; and enhancing survivors’ access to reparation benefits.