Nobel Peace Prize winner Nadia Murad presents five-step plan to aid return of Yezidis to Shingal

“If Ezidi minorities are abandoned, we are helping ISIS accomplish its goal of eradicating the religious minority.”

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Yezidi (Ezidi) activist Nadia Murad on Wednesday introduced a five-step plan to facilitate the return of Ezidis who live in displacement camps to their homes in the Sinjar (Shingal) region.

Murad’s comments came during a speech at the 2019 Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom conference in Washington. The event brings together leaders from around the world to discuss the challenges facing religious freedom, identify means to address religious persecution and discrimination worldwide, and promote greater respect and preservation of religious liberty for all.

Murad presented her plan, which she said would assist the Ezidis and help them rebuild their lives in their ancestral homeland of Shingal.

“There are concrete steps that can be taken to support the recreation of the Ezidi community, and essential steps toward the end of the [Islamic State] genocide,” she stated.

The Ezidi activist also focused on “long-term stability by promoting reconstruction and sustainable development,” with the aid of international funds to achieve these goals.

“Integrating religious minorities into the security forces [will] enable the religious minority to have a hand in their security.”

She also called for the speedy prosecution of Islamic State militants for their crimes against the Ezidis so that the terrorists can be held “accountable for their crimes as soon as possible.”

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Murad reminded that the protection of religious minorities is a global responsibility that requires international efforts.

“If Ezidi minorities are abandoned, we are helping ISIS accomplish its goal of eradicating the religious minority,” she stated.

The religious minority suffered heavily at the hands of the terror group following its emergence in Iraq in 2014, including mass executions. The occupation of the town of Shingal led to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Ezidis.

Murad herself was a survivor of the Islamic State. She was subjected to various kinds of violence by members of the extremist group following its takeover of the city of Shingal in August 2014. Murad was one of a few women who fled from the terror group and has since recounted her suffering to the world.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany