On July 27, the Nadia Initiative and French Ambassador to the United States Philippe Etienne jointly organized a reception for the 7th anniversary of the Yazidi genocide and advocated a strong policy that should protect against persecution and create a system that expands the opportunities of survivors. Samantha Power, the head of the USAID Agency for International Development, spoke in support of restoring justice for the Yazidi people. The event was also attended by US Congressmen, State Department officials, foreign ambassadors, and many others.
Consistent actions are needed to ensure justice-both by holding ISIS accountable for its crimes, and by giving the people the opportunity to preserve their heritage and restore their homeland. ISIS has tried to erase the future of Yazidism; we will defeat them by building a brighter future than ever before.
We must devote ourselves to the Yazidi people and their right to live in peace, security and dignity.
Nadia Murad made the following speech:
"For the international community, the memory of the Yazidi genocide may be abstract. The violence of ISIS seems far away both in time and geography. Human lives are compressed in statistics: more than 400,000 displaced persons, more than 5,000 killed and more than 6,000 enslaved. I'm here to show you that there are people behind these statistics.
Since August 3, 2014, the Yazidi community in the Sinjar region of Iraq has been invaded and slowly torn apart. The atrocities are shocking, no matter how many times you tell them. Men and elderly women were killed and thrown into mass graves. Women and girls like me, my nieces and sisters, were sold and raped. The boys were turned into soldiers and forced to fight.
But the genocide itself did not come as a surprise. ISIS has issued a warning to the world. They have clearly stated their intention to persecute the Yazidis. Having survived centuries of persecution for our faith, my people knew that the threats of ISIS must be taken seriously. The Yazidis abandoned everything they worked for — their homes and livelihoods-to flee. They valued their lives and their faith above their possessions. But the world didn't even appreciate our basic human rights. And, unfortunately, not everyone managed to escape.
I am still not sure that the genocide was inevitable. 12 days passed between the first attack on the Yazidis and the day of the invasion of my village of Kocho. 12 days when the armies that had sworn to protect us fled. 12 days when the governments of Baghdad and Erbil turned away from their citizens. 12 days when the international community ignored our cries for help. Nevertheless, we have not given up faith. I will never forget how my brothers ' eyes shone with hope that someone would come to save our village. This hope was extinguished by bullets.
In a minute we will show a video created by UNITAD that shows the atrocities that took place in Kocho. It describes in detail the crimes of ISIS, but also gives you the opportunity to see my people and our way of life. For generations, the Yazidis have worked to build a simple life in our remote villages. All this was taken away. My mother, brothers and sisters were innocent and hardworking people. They didn't deserve their fate.
Seven years later, my people are still waiting for help. There was sympathy and help, but there was not enough tangible support to help the community recover and revive. Today, the community is split physically and psychologically.

Hundreds of thousands of Yazidis are still internally displaced in northern Iraq. The Yazidis cannot preserve our culture and religion in the unworthy conditions of life in the camps. And there is no way to move forward when the federal Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government do not support our return home or the restoration of Sinjar. There is no chance of healing when Iraq and the international community do not hold ISIS accountable for their crimes.
As a Yazidi woman and a survivor, it is not easy for me to share my story. But despite all that I went through — the loss of my family and home, enslavement and displacement — I did not give up. I will not yield to the goal of ISIS to destroy me and my people. I tried to tell the truth about what happened so that the world would not forget. I'm just one of the survivors. There are thousands of Yazidis who are just as determined to defeat the hate ideology of ISIS, fight for justice, rebuild their lives and leave a safer world for their children.
I see my work and the work of the Nadia Initiative as an existential struggle for the survival of my people. But it is also the struggle of all mankind for the prevention of genocide against other groups at risk. This is a call to the world community not to stand idly by in the conditions of genocide and sexual violence.
ISIS attacked my family and me simply because we were Yazidis. Because our identity and our faith were different from their identity and faith. I ask you to support my people not because the Yazidis are special, but because we are the same. We are human beings and deserve justice."

Source "Nadia Initiative"