Marking the eleventh anniversary of the genocide against the Yazidi people by the so-called Islamic State (IS) in Iraq, representatives of the Green Party are advocating for a pathway to permanent residency for Yazidi community members residing in Germany.
In a joint statement released Saturday evening, Green Party parliamentary group leader Katharina Dröge and the group’s spokesperson for human rights policy, Max Lucks, highlighted the devastating events that commenced eleven years ago in Sinjar, northern Iraq, with a campaign aimed at the systematic annihilation of the Yazidi population.
The statement acknowledged the German Bundestag’s recognition in 2023 of these atrocities as genocide, emphasizing the immense loss of innocent lives and the widespread trauma inflicted upon countless women and children who were victims of sexual violence, abduction and enslavement. The suffering and shock from these events, the statement noted, continue to deeply affect the community.
Observing that Germany is now home to the world’s largest Yazidi diaspora, Dröge and Lucks stressed the importance of providing Yazidis with a safe haven and a new home. They criticized the prospect of deporting families seeking protection, calling such actions inhumane and raising concerns about the disregard for legal injunctions and the symbolic implications of such policies affecting the most vulnerable individuals.
To address this, the Green Party parliamentary group is initiating a legislative proposal to facilitate a long-term residency permit for Yazidis affected by the genocide. The aim is to prevent the threat of deportation back to the region of their persecution, enabling them to live in peace, freedom and with dignity. The representatives urged the German federal government to recognize and uphold Germany’s specific responsibility toward this community.