The 3rd Iraqi Women's Conference held in Baghdad on 25 July made important decisions on the anniversary of the Shengal Massacre that took place on 3 August 2014. Now the women issued a call to the Baghdad government.
The conference was organized by the Iraqi Women's Association, the Yazidi Free Women's Movement (TAJÊ) and the Or Cultural Association with the theme of "Be the Voice of Self-Defense Against Femicide with a Joint Struggle".
The final declaration prepared after the conference was sent to Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia Sudani.
The declaration called on the Iraqi government to recognize the massacre committed against the Yazidi community in Shengal as "genocide".
In addition, a request was made to the international community and organizations that recognize the genocide to initiate legal proceedings against ISIS and its collaborators.
The declaration emphasized that the fate of 3,504 women, 869 men and an unknown number of hundreds of children abducted by ISIS is still unknown, and called on the Iraqi government to take action to find these people.
In addition, Sudani was asked to close Shengal airspace and to stop the nearly 100 airstrikes carried out by the Turkish state since 2017.
The official recognition of the Shengal Autonomous Administration in the Iraqi constitution was also among the important demands included in the declaration.
The conference's final declaration also opposed the proposed changes to the Personal Status Law in Iraq, stating that such changes risked turning Iraq into a sectarian and religious state.
