Ezidi member of the Iraqi Parliament Khalid Sido has urged the federal government to include police recruitment, public-sector employment, compensation and reconstruction measures for Sinjar in Iraq’s 2027 budget.
Sido presented the demands on 11 October 2026 as the Iraqi government prepares the federal budget before submitting it to Parliament. The proposals are intended to address security vacancies, unresolved employment cases and the continuing displacement of Ezidi families more than twelve years after the Ezidi Genocide of 2014.
One of the principal demands concerns the recruitment of 1,000 additional local police officers in Sinjar. The 2020 Sinjar Agreement provided for the recruitment of 2,500 officers from the district to establish a locally rooted police force. According to Sido, approximately 1,500 officers have been recruited, leaving 1,000 positions unfilled.
Completing the recruitment process would provide employment for local residents while strengthening security through officers who know the district and its population. The demand also represents an attempt to secure implementation of a provision that has remained incomplete since the agreement was concluded six years ago.
Sido’s second demand concerns 1,376 people currently working under temporary contracts in government departments and institutions in Sinjar. They form Sinjar’s share of a wider group of contract workers across Nineveh Province. The lawmaker is seeking their transfer to permanent public-sector employment through the 2027 budget.
Permanent appointments would provide the workers with greater employment security, stable salaries and the rights associated with regular government service. They could also help retain public employees in a district where weakened institutions and insufficient services continue to impede recovery.
The remaining demands concern compensation, reconstruction and the return of displaced families. Sido said the Iraqi government had previously allocated 50 billion Iraqi dinars to compensate people in Sinjar, but that the money had not been disbursed. He called for the allocation to be renewed and increased in the 2027 budget, with measures ensuring that the funds actually reach those who suffered losses.
He also requested dedicated reconstruction funding for Sinjar. Homes, public buildings, roads and essential infrastructure were extensively damaged during the ISIS assault and the subsequent conflict. Although residents have repeatedly called for reconstruction, large parts of the district remain damaged and many Ezidi families are still unable to return permanently.
The requests are closely connected. Compensation alone cannot enable families to return if their homes, schools, healthcare facilities, water systems and local institutions remain damaged or unavailable. Reconstruction projects will likewise have limited effect without security, functioning public institutions and employment opportunities.
The 2020 Sinjar Agreement was intended to address the district’s security, administration and reconstruction while creating the conditions necessary for displaced residents to return. Its implementation has remained incomplete, however, including the recruitment of the full number of local police officers.
Sido’s proposals have not yet been approved. Their implementation would require their inclusion in the government’s draft budget, parliamentary adoption of the necessary allocations and the subsequent release and expenditure of the funds. The earlier failure to disburse the 50-billion-dinar compensation allocation demonstrates that including money in a budget does not by itself guarantee that affected families will receive it.
The 2027 budget will therefore be an important test of whether the Iraqi government is prepared to translate repeated commitments to Sinjar into funded and enforceable measures. For the Ezidi people, the central issue is not simply whether new allocations are announced, but whether police positions are filled, contract workers receive permanent employment, compensation is delivered and reconstruction enables displaced families to return safely and rebuild their lives.
