Ezidi Survivor Fawzia Amin Sido Testifies at UN Side Event and Calls for Family Reunification

Ezidi survivor Fawzia Amin Sido, who survived ten years of ISIS captivity, addressed a UN Watch side event during the 62nd session of the UN Human Rights Council on June 26, 2026.

The event, titled “Women’s Rights Under Extremism and Conflict,” focused on the experiences of women affected by extremist violence, war and systematic abuse. During her testimony, Sido spoke about her abduction as a child, the suffering endured by Ezidi women and children after the 2014 ISIS attack on Shengal, and her continuing struggle to reunite with her family.

Sido was only ten years old when ISIS attacked the Ezidi people in August 2014. In her remarks, she recalled how families were forced to flee, how many were killed, and how thousands of women and children were abducted. She described being separated from her young brother during the attack, a moment that continues to define her pain years later.

Over the following decade, Sido was held in captivity and subjected to severe abuse, forced displacement and exploitation. According to her testimony, she was later taken to Gaza, where she remained trapped for years before her case became known internationally.

Her rescue came after she managed to send a plea for help through a video shared online. International efforts involving several countries, including the United States, Iraq and Jordan, later contributed to bringing her to safety.

Sido now lives in Germany under humanitarian protection. However, she told the audience that her freedom remains incomplete because her mother and brother are still in Iraq. Her father died before she was able to see him again after her rescue.

In her appeal, Sido called on the German government, human rights organisations and the international community to make an exception on humanitarian grounds and allow her sick mother and brother to enter Germany. For her, family reunification is not only a legal process, but an essential part of recovery after years of trauma, separation and loss.

She also thanked those who supported efforts to rescue her, including Steve Maman and Dawood Jajju.

Sido ended her testimony by urging the international community not to stop searching for the missing Ezidis who remain unaccounted for since the genocide. Her message highlighted that behind every missing person is a family still living with uncertainty, grief and unanswered questions. Her testimony was a reminder that the ISIS genocide against the Ezidi people is not only a past atrocity. For survivors, the consequences continue through displacement, missing relatives, legal barriers, trauma and the unfinished search for justice.