The Jiyan Foundation for Human Rights and the Coalition for Just Reparations (C4JR) warmly congratulate Dr. Barham Salih on his appointment as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). We take this opportunity to recall his pivotal role in advancing justice for survivors of ISIL crimes in Iraq, particularly through his leadership in the enactment of the Yazidi Female Survivors Law (YSL).
By exercising the President’s underutilised power of legislative initiative, President Salih and his associates drafted the initial version of the YSL and submitted it to the Iraqi Parliament on 28 March 2019. Following its adoption by the Iraqi Council of Representatives on 1 March 2021, President Salih ratified the law on 8 March 2021—International Women’s Day—formally bringing it into force.
The YSL represents a landmark step in addressing the legacy of ISIL’s atrocities against Yazidi, Christian, Turkmen, and Shabak communities. It formally recognises acts of genocide and establishes a framework for financial and non-financial reparations for survivors. By specifically addressing women survivors of conflict-related sexual violence, Iraq became one of the first countries in the MENA region to acknowledge such crimes and pursue redress in line with international standards.
It should be recalled that the initial YSL text, introduced by the Iraqi Presidency, was already particularly progressive in scope. Namely, it extended beyond compensation to encompass a comprehensive set of material and symbolic reparative measures, including rehabilitation, land and housing, education, recognition of genocide, memorialization, the search for the missing, and a commitment to accountability. The draft also contained provisions aimed at improving the legal and social status of children born of wartime sexual violence. Furthermore, by drafting and submitting the bill, President Salih created space for meaningful engagement of survivors, civil society organizations, activists and the international community to strengthen the initial text, advocate for its adoption and survivor-centered implementation. Thus, the significance and positive impact of the initial YSL draft cannot be overstated, particularly given the largely symbolic role of the Head of State under Iraq’s 2005 Constitution.
Reflecting on his motivation to champion the YSL, President Salih stated:
“What motivated me was a sense of responsibility, a sense of ethics. The fact that the victims of ISIS, especially the Yazidi girls who were abducted and treated the way that they were, represented the most extreme case of brutality — of human beings against fellow human beings.
As a state official, as a member of society, and as a human being, I felt that we needed to act. No amount of reparation or recognition can ever undo the injustice suffered by these people.
I hope this will be the beginning of a process that not only provides reparation from the state as a moral responsibility toward its citizens, but also mobilizes serious international efforts so that those who enabled these crimes are held accountable and contribute to reparations — with Yazidi survivors foremost among those who endured a terrible ordeal”.
President Salih further reflects on his role in advancing reparations in the first episode of C4JR’s podcast series, “More Than Ink on Paper,” which aired on March 8, 2023, where he discusses accountability and justice for survivors of ISIL crimes.
For the latest updates on the implementation of the Yazidi Female Survivors Law, subscribe to the C4JR newsletter.
