After genocide: how the Yazidi perceive the responsibility to protect and the actions of the international community

Six years after the Yazidi community in northern Iraq was targeted by the socalled Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and subjected to a genocidal
campaign, the survivors of the genocide still cannot return to their ancient home
of Sinjar but live mostly in the Dohuk-governorate in the Kurdish autonomous
region of Iraq. This paper argues that under the Responsibility to Protect doctrine
(R2P), which has the explicit aim to protect vulnerable groups from genocide and
the worst forms of political violence, the international community, as well as the
Iraqi and Kurdish governments, have the responsibility to rebuild Sinjar and help
the Yazidi to restore their livelihoods. Based on qualitative, semi-structured
interviews with 28 Yazidi women, the paper investigates the functions of R2P
‘on the ground’ and argues that post-genocide reconciliation might also be
necessary with those who are perceived as bystanders and enablers of the
violence.