News Center- A special session was held at the Federal Assembly of Switzerland on Tuesday to discuss a bill submitted by Fabian Molina, a member of the Swiss parliament from the Social Democratic party, and Sibel Arslan, a Green MP, demanding the official recognition of the crimes committed against the Yazidi community by ISIS as a genocide. Victims of the genocide and prominent members of the Yazidi community also attended the session.

 ‘The crimes of genocide have been documented’

At the session, Fabian Molina recalled the crimes committed against the Yazidi community by ISIS and said, “The horrific crimes committed by ISIS have been thoroughly documented and proven by the UN investigation team UNITAD (a 2021 report by the United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da’esh/ISIL) and other investigative authorities. The international community has widely accepted, both politically and legally, that the committed crimes constitute genocide under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.”

 ‘The primary aim of ISIS was the complete annihilation of the Yazidi people’

Fabian Molina highlighted that the primary aim of ISIS’s attacks was the complete annihilation of the Yazidi people, adding that ISIS systematically attacked Yazidi settlements in Iraq with the intention of destroying their culture and life. “In doing so, they killed and enslaved tens of thousands of Yazidis, particularly women. The Yazidi women, men, and children who were abducted were forced into labor under enslavement, subjected to sexual violence, and other atrocities. The accounts are so horrific that defy human comprehension. For instance, some victims were forced to eat human flesh. As revealed by UNITAD’ report, all these crimes were committed with the intent to annihilate the Yazidi people.”

Recalling that some Yazidis who survived the ISIS massacres were present at the parliament, Fabian Molina said, “As a commission, we support Switzerland’s long-standing international commitment to fighting impunity for the gravest crimes. Fighting impunity is an important contribution to upholding the rule of law and preventing the gravest crimes. This motion is even more significant in the face of the threat of ISIS’s resurgence in Syria. The proposed bill is consistent with Switzerland’s policy of neutrality. The commission also reminds us that ISIS has been sanctioned as a terrorist organization by the United Nations and that it is not a state as it claims. In this spirit, I call on the parliament to approve the proposed bill.”

 ‘This atrocity must not go unpunished’

In her speech at the session, Sibel Arslan draw attention to the scale of the massacres committed against the Yazidis by ISIS and said, “The United Nations has defined these crimes as genocide. Various states have recognized the massacre as genocide. We must now help ensure that this atrocity does not go unpunished.”

After the speeches, the bill was put to the vote and it was approved, with 105 in favor, 67 against, and 27 abstentions.

According to the approved bill, Switzerland: “Strongly condemns the forced displacement, rape, systematic killings, and destruction of Yazidi places of worship with genocidal intent against the Yazidis.”

·Recognizes the attacks launched by ISIS against the Yazidi religious minority in Iraq since 3 August 2014, as genocide;

·Requests the Swiss Foreign Ministry to communicate this recognition to the international community through diplomatic channels;

·Calls on the Federal Council to commit at the international level to addressing and remedying these crimes.