Every year on 9 December, the world reflects on one of humanity’s darkest failures: the crime of genocide. This date became internationally recognized in 2015, when the UN General Assembly, following an initiative by Armenia, established it as the International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of This Crime. The choice was symbolic and deliberate: it coincides with the anniversary of the 1948 Genocide Convention, the first human rights treaty adopted by the United Nations after the Second World War.
For Ezidis, this day resonates in a way that is both global and deeply personal. More than a decade after the 2014 genocide carried out by ISIS, the suffering has not faded. Nearly 200,000 Ezidis remain displaced inside Iraq. More than 2,500 women and children are still missing. Countless mass graves across Sinjar await dignified exhumation and proper identification. Every statistic reflects a family searching for answers, a future interrupted, and a grief that remains unresolved.
This day exists because remembrance alone is not enough. The Genocide Convention placed a binding obligation on all states to prevent genocide, protect vulnerable populations, and punish perpetrators. Yet the world continues to witness rising violence, neglected early warning signs, and devastating failures to act before atrocities escalate. The gap between principle and practice remains wide.
Amid this reality, the courage of survivors in Sinjar stands as a testament to resilience. They are rebuilding homes, restoring cultural life, and protecting the traditions of the Ezidi people and their Sharfadin faith. Women, in particular, have become pivotal voices in recovery by efforts, rebuilding social structures, and reclaiming the future that genocide tried to erase.
The tenth anniversary of this international day in 2025 has renewed global calls for action. At the UN, states have been urged to strengthen early-warning systems, support accountability for atrocity crimes, and uphold the commitments of the Genocide Convention. Some countries, who recognising that preventing genocide is an obligation owed to all humanity, have intervened in international legal proceedings to defend the integrity of the Convention and demand accountability in current conflicts. These actions underscore a fundamental truth: prevention is not symbolic; it is a responsibility.
For Ezidis, the path forward is inseparable from justice. There can be no meaningful prevention while thousands remain missing, while families wait for the exhumation of mass graves, and while displacement continues with no clear path to safe return. Confronting past atrocities is not merely an act of remembrance: it is the only way to prevent future violence.
Today, Ezidis remember those who were killed, stand with those still searching for loved ones, and honor the survivors who rebuild every day with extraordinary strength. This day reminds the world that memory demands action, dignity demands justice, and prevention demands the courage to confront and stop atrocity crimes before they unfold.
