German lawmakers on Thursday recognised as genocide crimes committed by Islamic State (IS) militants against minority Yazidis in Iraq in 2014.
“Three years ago, I met Yazidi women in northern Iraq: they were abducted, enslaved, raped. I cannot let go of their pain,” Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock tweeted.
“The Bundestag has decided to name the IS crimes against the Yezidis for what they are: genocide,” she added.
The parliamentary resolution is expected to facilitate the further prosecution of IS perpetrators in Germany.
Thursday’s move by lawmakers in the Bundestag (lower house of parliament) came after a German court in 2021 jailed a former Islamic State militant for life for involvement in genocide and crimes against humanity against Yazidis in Iraq and Syria, including the murder of a five-year-old girl.
“We know that no parliamentary resolution in this world can undo their suffering,” Baerbock added.
“But I am deeply convinced that this decision makes a difference: a decisive step towards recognition of the suffering and towards justice for the survivors.”
The genocide motion was sponsored by the three parties in Germany’s ruling coalition – the Social Democrats, Greens and Free Democrats – and the opposition conservative CDU/CSU bloc.
Source: National News Agency