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December 8, 2021
December 8, 2021
December 8, 2021
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On 9 December 2021, in the presence of Iraqi and international officials and Yazidi community members, a funeral will be held in Kocho, Sinjar, for 41 Yazidi victims of ISIS. 5 mourning days will be observed after the burial. The deceased were executed in Kocho village, Sinjar, in August 2014. The UN-supported exhumation process in Kocho started in March 2019 and continued during 2020. So far, 17 mass graves have been exhumed in Kocho and 104 Yazidi victims were buried earlier this year.
The identification of the remains was carried out by the Iraqi Medico-Legal Department (MLD) of the Martyrs Foundation, with the assistance of the UN Investigative Team for Accountability of Da’esh/ISIL (UNITAD) and the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP). During a meeting organized on 24 November in Duhok in the presence of Yazidi survivors, MLD highlighted the importance of family members of the missing coming forward to provide the authorities with a blood sample to accelerate the DNA-matching process. Members of the Yazidi community who will be travelling back to Iraq from abroad are specifically asked to get in touch with MLD or Yazda in the coming days and weeks.
As with the first burial in Kocho, Yazda and other organizations will accompany Yazidi community members during this extremely sensitive time. Yazda’s Case Managers will be deployed and will provide psychological support on the day of the burial. Yazda’s Mobile Medical Unit will provide medical assistance to the community where needed. Yazda’s Documentation Team will film the official speeches, report on the ceremony and interview the authorities and partners, including members of the MLD and representatives of UNITAD and ICMP. The community will be invited to provide feedback on the process and report any concerns.
As the legal representative of many Yazidi survivors as well as Yazda, Amal Clooney comments:
“I extend my sincere condolences to the families of the victims, who have waited so long for closure. And I know that too many others are still waiting, still searching for loved ones. We must remain resolute in our efforts to ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice, that their horrific crimes are exposed, and that victims receive the support they deserve”.
Yazda’s Country Director in Iraq, Jameel Chomer adds:
“After seven years of massacre and genocide, the Yazidi community is crushed emotionally and psychologically, particularly the people of Kocho village. The families are living in the pain of the loss of their beloved ones and delivering the remains of 41 individuals will relieve only little of this pain from their shoulders. Although the Iraqi authorities and UNITAD are doing their utmost, hundreds of bodies remain unidentified due to a lack of human resources, and financial support. We call the international community to support both teams and to accelerate the processes of identification and exhumation in Sinjar”.
Download press release here.
For the Arabic version, click here.
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