The British newspaper The Guardian published a feature about a report, compiled by a group of prominent human rights lawyers, saying that Turkey should face charges in front of the international court of justice for being complicit in acts of genocide against the Yazidi people. 

The groundbreaking report is seeking to highlight the binding responsibility states have to prevent genocide on their territories, even if they are carried out by a third party such as Islamic State (IS).

The lawyers, grouped under the title of the Yazidi Justice Committee (YJC), said there was accountability under international law for states to prevent the crime of genocide under the Genocide Convention. Sir Geoffrey Nice QC, chair of the YJC, described the genocide of the Yazidi people as “madness heaped on evil”.

“Turkish officials knew and/or were wilfully blind to evidence that these individuals would use this training to commit prohibited acts against the Yazidis,” the report said.

The report noted similar allegations have been made against some Gulf states, including Qatar, but insufficient evidence was produced.

The 278-page report acknowledged that by June 2014, Iraq had called on the UN to recognise the atrocities committed by IS, but accused the Iraqi government of not coordinating with Kurdish authorities or taking measures to evacuate the Yazidis to safety.

The Syrian government, the report alleged, failed to prevent the transfer and detention of enslaved Yazidis on its territory.