As Australia launches landmark Islamic State prosecutions, Germany offers a roadmap for justice
Australia is facing challenges in prosecuting individuals linked to the Islamic State for genocide against the Yazidi people. Experts argue that despite legal recognition of the genocide, a lack of evidence and legal frameworks makes it difficult to hold perpetrators accountable.
Why it matters
It highlights the ongoing struggle for justice for victims of the Yazidi genocide and the legal complexities of prosecuting war crimes committed abroad.
Thousands of Yazidis fled northern Iraq in 2014 after the Islamic State invaded. ( Reuters: Youssef Boudial )
Link copied Share Share article When Islamic State invaded northern Iraq in 2014, their campaign of genocide led to the deaths of 5,000 Yazidis and the abduction of 6,000 women and children who were forced to convert to Islam and sold into slavery.
Thousands more fled the country, and now more than 4,000 Yazidi people are rebuilding their lives in Australia.
But their fight for justice is ongoing and difficult due to an inability to punish the perpetrators of their genocide.
"Yazidi people in Australia and around the world exist in a state of recognition without redress," said Professor Aldo Zammit-Borda, an international law expert at the University of London.
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