Institutions as Agents of Persecution and Inclusion of Minority Faiths

Brett G. Scharffs is Rex E. Lee chair and professor of law at J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University, and is director of the Law School’s International Center for Law and Religion Studies. The following post is based on his remarks at the AMAR Windsor Dialogue conference held at Cumberland Lodge, Windsor, England, 24–25 June 2024. It was published as part of the Talk About blog feature “Marking the 10th Anniversary of the Yazidi Genocide.”

My engagement with the AMAR International Charitable Foundation began as a participant in the 2018 Windsor Dialogue conference held in Baghdad, where I and others discussed the experience of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and their journey “from persecution to inclusion.”[1] The hope was that the Latter-day Saints’ journey might have salience, relevance, and resonance with the Yazidi community. I later discussed the Latter-day Saints’ journey at a 2022 Notre Dame University Symposium, “Re-Thinking the Law to Protect Religious Minorities,” and published a related essay in Notre Dame Law Review Reflection.

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Marking the 10th Anniversary of the Yazidi Genocide

On 3 August 2014, the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Daesh) invaded the Sinjar region of Iraq, instigating genocide against the Yazidi people. ISIL/Daesh killed more than 3000 Yazidis and abducted more than 6800, mostly women and girls. Ten years later, 2600 of the abducted remain missing. And more than 150,000 Yazidis still residing in IDP camps face an uncertain future, as camps face defunding and closure.

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Human Dignity and Proactive Approaches to the Prevention of Genocide

Ewelina Ochab is a senior programme lawyer with the IBA’s Human Rights Institute and cofounder of the Coalition for Genocide Response. She authored the initiative and proposal to establish what became the UN International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief (22 August).

The following post is based on her remarks at the ICLRS 30th Annual International Law and Religion Symposium, 2 October 2023. It was published as part of the Talk About blog feature “Marking the 10th Anniversary of the Yazidi Genocide.”

Genocide does not just happen. It requires preparation. It requires planning. It requires steps to deny the human dignity of every individual before it translates into the denial of rights–turned–persecution and annihilation of the whole community.

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