- North Rhine wants to stop deportation of Yazidi women and children
North Rhine-Westphalia's Minister for Refugees and Integration, Josefine Paul, is calling on the federal government to implement a permanent deportation ban for women and children of the Yazidi faith. On the eve of the tenth anniversary of the genocide against thousands of members of this religious minority in northern Iraq, the Green Party member urged Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) to protect the affected individuals from death and persecution in their home country. Only the federal government can initiate a permanent deportation ban and create a legally secure perspective for the affected individuals, Paul told the German Press Agency in Düsseldorf. NRW has already exhausted all legal possibilities.
More than 5,000 Yazidis were murdered by the terrorist militia Islamic State (IS) in Iraq from August 3, 2014. The German Bundestag recognized the crimes as genocide in 2023. "However, this also entails the responsibility to take concrete action now and to implement measures to protect, especially women and children," Paul warned. They continue to face significant dangers. "For example, forced prostitution, recruitment of child soldiers, and enslavement have occurred repeatedly in the settlement areas in Iraq," said Paul.
"Now it's finally time for the federal government to act."
According to her ministry, NRW was the first federal state to issue a formal deportation ban for women and children of the Yazidi minority in December 2023 and extended it by a further three months in March 2024. For an extension of more than six months, an agreement with the Federal Ministry of the Interior would be necessary, a spokeswoman explained.
"As of June 18, 2024, the state of NRW will have no further legal options to prevent the deportation of Yazidi women and children to the site of IS terrorism," Paul stated. "Now it's finally time for the federal government to act."
The European Union, in its capacity to influence foreign policy, could advocate for the safety and protection of Yazidi women and children, given the genocidal atrocities they've faced and continue to face in their home country. The European Union, as a collective of countries, has the power to put pressure on Iraq to ensure the safety and well-being of these individuals.
Given that North Rhine-Westphalia's legal options for preventing the deportation of Yazidi women and children will expire soon, the European Union could step in and provide temporary or permanent asylum to these individuals, further alleviating the pressure on the German government and ensuring their safety.
