In response to the genocidal assault ISIS waged against Yezidis in 2014, the United States assembled a global coalition of 80 countries from around the world. Yet, Yezidis are still struggling to recover in both Iraq and Syria. Hundreds of thousands are still displaced, living in internally displaced people (IDP) camps, and face threats from an array of actors. Their ancestral homelands in both Sinjar, Iraq and Afrin, Syria are microcosms of geopolitical ambitions: Iranian militias, Iraqi security forces, Kurdish Peshmerga, and PKK-linked militias, in addition to the independent Yezidi militias. In Sinjar, these regional powers and non-state actors are competing for power amidst a backdrop of Turkish-led airstrikes. In Syria, the region of Afrin is now occupied by Turkey and Turkish-backed groups, while Russian and Syrian regime forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and People’s Protection Units (YPG) operate in close proximity to one another.
The Biden Administration needs to develop a policy in both Iraq and Syria to ensure Yezidis do not suffer continued persecution, even after the defeat of ISIS. This expert panel, co-hosted with the Free Yezidi Foundation, will discuss the geopolitical terrain and possible path forwards for US strategy in the region that will impact the fate of the Yezidi population.
SPEAKERS
Amy Austin Holmes
Former Fellow;
International Affairs Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations
Pari Ibrahim
Founder of the Free Yazidi Foundation