03
August 2017
Past Event
Justice for the Yezidis: ISIS and Crimes of Genocide

Justice for the Yezidis: ISIS and Crimes of Genocide

Past Event
Hudson Institute, Washington, D.C. Headquarters
August 03, 2017
Yezidi children seen at a small IDP camp near Snyuy, an Iraqi city at the base of Mount Sinjar. (Sebastian Backhaus/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Caption
Yezidi children seen at a small IDP camp near Snyuy, an Iraqi city at the base of Mount Sinjar. (Sebastian Backhaus/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
03
August 2017
Past Event

1201 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Suite 400
Washington, DC 20004

Speakers:
Pari Ibrahim

Executive Director, Free Yezidi Foundation

Naomi Kikoler

Deputy Director, Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

On August 3, 2014, the Islamic State attacked the Yezidis of Sinjar in Iraq’s Nineveh province. Thousands of Yezidis were massacred and many others abducted, while more than half a million fled for their lives.

Three years later, the conditions that led to ISIS’s rise and the failure to prevent genocide and crimes against humanity against the Yezidis, Christians and other ethnic and religious minorities—including the collapse of local governance and security—have not been addressed. The successful political reconstruction of Iraq and Kurdistan depends on the ability to ensure justice and fair treatment for the region’s most vulnerable populations.

The ideological and political struggle against the Islamic State requires bringing its fighters to justice for their crimes not only of terrorism, but also of genocide. Though this process has just begun, to date, thousands of captured ISIS fighters have been accused of terrorism, but not one of them has been charged or tried for their crimes of genocide.

On August 3, Hudson Institute hosted a panel discussion on this important component of the battle against ISIS. Pari Ibrahim of the Free Yezidi Foundation and Naomi Kikoler of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum joined Hudson Institute’s Eric B. Brown to assess how adherents of the Islamic State movement can be brought to justice for their crimes of genocide, how the safety of vulnerable minority communities can be ensured as Iraq rebuilds, the unique stabilization needs of Nineveh where most minorities live, and what role the U.S. should play in preventing genocide in the future.

Related Events
15
May 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Driving US Investment in Latin America
Featured Speakers:
Rob Mosbacher Jr.
Laura Burns
Erick Brimen
Moderator:
Daniel Batlle
Getty Images
15
May 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Driving US Investment in Latin America

Join Hudson for a panel that will examine some of the tools that could help revitalize US investment in the region, including development finance, political risk insurance, and economic innovation zones.

Getty Images
Featured Speakers:
Rob Mosbacher Jr.
Laura Burns
Erick Brimen
Moderator:
Daniel Batlle
15
May 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
European Economic Security in an Age of Renewed Competition
Featured Speakers:
Ruslan Stefanov
Martin Vladimirov
Isaac Levi
Moderator:
Matthew Boyse
Getty Images
15
May 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
European Economic Security in an Age of Renewed Competition

Join Senior Fellow Matt Boyse for this discussion with Martin Vladimirov, director of the Energy and Climate Program at CSD, and Isaac Levi, Europe-Russia policy and energy analysis team lead at CREA. CSD Program Director Ruslan Stefanov will provide opening remarks.

Getty Images
Featured Speakers:
Ruslan Stefanov
Martin Vladimirov
Isaac Levi
Moderator:
Matthew Boyse
13
May 2025
Past Event
Building Weapons that Adapt and Scale
Featured Speakers:
Colonel Tim Fuhrman
Diem Salmon
Mike Rucker
Trent Emeneker
Eric Nelson
Moderator:
Bryan Clark
DVIDS
13
May 2025
Past Event
Building Weapons that Adapt and Scale

Join Hudson Senior Fellow Bryan Clark for a discussion of the opportunities and challenges in establishing a new weapons design and development approach with leaders from the US Air Force, Defense Innovation Unit, and US defense industry.

DVIDS
Featured Speakers:
Colonel Tim Fuhrman
Diem Salmon
Mike Rucker
Trent Emeneker
Eric Nelson
Moderator:
Bryan Clark
13
May 2025
Past Event
To Invent Is Divine: Creativity, Ownership, and the US Patent System
Featured Speakers:
James Edwards
Adam Mossoff
Getty Images
13
May 2025
Past Event
To Invent Is Divine: Creativity, Ownership, and the US Patent System

Join Adam Mossoff for a conversation with the author about why IP protections are essential for fostering human flourishing, how the American system has been degraded, and steps policymakers can take to restore the system that has benefited the US and the world.

Getty Images
Featured Speakers:
James Edwards
Adam Mossoff