Yazda

Yazda, registered as a 501(c)(3) organization in the United States and as a local NGO in the Kurdistan Region of Northern Iraq, was established in August 2014 following the campaign of ethnic cleansing and sexual enslavement that was conducted by the self-declared ‘Islamic State’ (IS) militants. Yazda was founded by Yazidi students and professionals in US and Europe in response to the genocide that began on August 3, 2014. Yazda is a registered nonprofit in the United States, Germany, Iraq, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Australia. Yazda is a global Yazidi organization that strives to bring justice, sustenance, healing and rejuvenation to Yazidis who have suffered under or are affected by, the genocidal campaign against their people by the so-called Islamic State (IS) as well as the IS campaign against other vulnerable ethno-religious minorities. Yazda brings material, educational, nutritional, and medical support to Yazidis impacted by ISIS. Additionally, with the support of Yazda, Nadia Murad, a Yazidi human rights advocate, has attended and convened numerous meetings as part of her campaign to build awareness of the treatment of ethnic and religious minorities in Iraq, including the Yazidis. Other Yazidi women have joined the campaign to raise awareness, including; Farida Abbas, Samia Sleman, Shireen Ibrahim, among others. Since the spring of 2016, Amal Clooney has acted as legal counsel for Yazda, as well as for United Nations Goodwill Ambassador Nadia Murad and other survivors of the Yazidi genocide. As victims’ counsel, Amal is seeking to secure accountability for international crimes perpetrated by ISIS against the Yazidi community in Iraq and Syria, including genocide, mass executions, sexual enslavement and trafficking, recruitment of child soldiers and forced displacement, among other war crimes and crimes against humanity.