Rebuilding After Atrocities: Accountability and Reconstruction in Sinjar and Beyond

Nobel Peace Prize winner Nadia Murad joined GIWPS for a discussion on the status of Sinjar today, ten years after the Yazidi genocide, and how we can improve accountability and reconstruction in Sinjar and beyond. Nadia’s Initiative also launched their report: "Rebuilding Amid the Ruins," at the event.
The event featured:
Nadia Murad, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and President & Chairwoman of the Board of Nadia’s Initiative
Beth Van Schaack, U.S. Ambassador-At-Large for Global Criminal Justice
Elisa Massimino, Executive Director of the Human Rights Institute at Georgetown Law
Moderated by, Melanne Verveer, Executive Director of the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security; Former US Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues
Around the world, violent conflict and mass atrocities wreak havoc on communities. More than 110 million people have been forcibly displaced from their homes, many of whom will not return for at least two decades, if ever. And there continues to be a disturbing rise in conflict-related sexual violence affecting women and girls. Beyond the initial violence, long-term impacts of trauma, displacement, lack of education, and disrupted economies make rebuilding after the guns are silenced difficult. A lack of adequate healthcare and psychosocial support for survivors of conflcit-related sexual violence continues to be a widespread issue. Impunity for these crimes leaves victims and survivors with little closure and signals to would-be perpetrators that they too may be able to get away with a similar level of violence.
This year marks the tenth anniversary of the Yazidi genocide when ISIS killed over 5,000, enslaved more than 6,000 women and children subjecting them to horrific sexual violence, and displaced more than 400,000. Thousands are still missing. While ISIS no longer has control of Sinjar, half of those who were displaced by the violence have not returned home. Those that have returned are struggling.
This event was hosted by the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security & Nadia’s Initiative