An international women's conference on genocide and femicide in Shengal took place in Baghdad on Saturday. The conference was a follow-up to the workshop of the Yazidi Women's Freedom Movement (TAJÊ) in Shengal in February, where women from Iraq had decided to cooperate in the fight against femicide and massacres.

At the end of the conference in Baghdad, a joint declaration was adopted in which the ISIS massacre against the Yazidi community and against women was described as a painful wound: "We assess the attacks on Yazidi women as an attack on all women. The genocide against Yazidi women in Iraq was not the first of its kind. So that no community ever has to experience this again, we will fight in solidarity against sectarian, nationalist, sexist and religious fanatic attacks."

"The femicide in Shengal must be classified as a crime against humanity"

At the time of the ISIS massacre on 3 August 2014, the governments of Iraq and the KRI (Kurdistan Region of Iraq) were responsible for Shengal, said the declaration and continued: "However, the role of the Iraqi and Kurdish governments in the femicide and genocide in Shengal has never been brought up for discussion and clarified. Similarly, no investigations have been launched against countries like Turkey, which is behind the ISIS gangs. This is a disgrace and paves the way for future massacres. In international law, femicide is still not recognised as a war crime. International institutions and especially the United Nations must classify the massacre of Yazidi women in Shengal as a war crime and a crime against humanity."

"The attacks of the Turkish state must be stopped"

The declaration also calls for an end to Turkish attacks on Shengal: " Shengal was brutally destroyed in 2014. After the great pain suffered by the people, they built hospitals, schools and similar facilities in Shengal with their own resources to meet basic needs. This development should have been supported. Instead, Shengal is now being attacked by Turkey. We condemn all attacks by Turkey on Shengal and demand an immediate end to them. Yazidi women were the most affected by the massacre on 3 August. They must be included in all decision-making processes in Shengal. No decision taken outside the will of women can be sustainable."