National Council committee wants to recognize the genocide of the Yazidis
Published: Tuesday, Nov 5th 2024, 18:50
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Switzerland should recognize the 2014 massacre of the Yazidi ethnic-religious minority in northern Iraq as genocide. This is the demand of the responsible National Council committee. It has requested that a declaration to this effect be made in the upper chamber.
The decision in the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council (FAC-N) was made by 12 votes to 10 with one abstention, as reported by the parliamentary services on Tuesday. The Grand Chamber will decide on the declaration.
In the opinion of the Commission majority, Parliament would send a strong political signal against Islamic terrorism and violations of international law with such a declaration. Although the Commission minority does not want to ignore the suffering of the Yazidis, it is of the opinion that it is not the task of Parliament to recognize crimes committed worldwide.
A petition submitted in July 2023, which was signed by around 80,000 people, also calls for recognition of the genocide against the Yazidis. The majority of the APK-N did not want to accept the petition, as its concerns went beyond the recognition of the genocide against the Yazidis.
On August 3, 2014, the terrorist militia Islamic State (IS) launched a major military attack on areas inhabited by Yazidis in northern Iraq. IS killed more than 5,000 people and abducted 7,000 others. Enslavement also took place. 2500 women and children have been missing since then. Several mass graves have not yet been opened.
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