Northern Sinjar Social Cohesion Agreement

Ninewa - March 30, 2024

In a disgraceful crime that is an affront to humanity, Sinjar witnessed a massive calamity that qualifies as one of the most heinous and bloodiest crimes in modern history when the terrorist organization ISIS attacked the city and viciously killed whomever they found in their way, including men and women, without showing mercy for the elderly or children. The terrorist organization further reinforced its criminality by abducting hundreds of men and women – with the fate and whereabouts of the majority of them remaining unknown. It was quite evident that the terrorist organization was keen on targeting the social fabric in Sinjar with the purpose of creating a rift among these communities that could be used to stir further conflicts and destabilize the area, hoping to capitalize on them in the future.

Against this backdrop, the wisdom of the community leaders was strongly present in preventing the success of opportunistic terrorist attempts and objectives. The shared history based on solid brotherly relations across time and a robust common ground built on solid foundations constituted the starting point for home-grown initiatives to address the challenges.

Considering the above, leaders and key dignitaries of the community, including Northern Sinjar Ezidi and Arab tribal leaders, social elites, and decision-makers are determined to stand up to the challenges that undermine social cohesion, seeking to bring about genuine stability that would guarantee a free and safe life in dignity for all where peace and brotherhood would thrive. Taking note of the above, they commit to achieve the following:

·        Support the state’s authority and engage interactively to support state institutions so that they attain the quality capacity needed to meet the key demands and needs of the locals.

·        Support the rule of law, rendering it the key reference in governing the area without resorting to, accepting, or supporting any practices that would contradict the enforcement of the law.

·        Support the security forces and develop the sense of responsibility among the locals for a productive meaningful contribution in supporting security forces in enforcing the law.

·        Promote the spirit of amicability, tolerance, coexistence, fostering the culture of acceptance, and dialogue as the language to reach common grounds.

·        Renounce all forms of violence, while countering its narrative with moderate and correct ideas and seeking to deny any chance for the generation of radical ideas regardless of whether they are religious or nationalist ideas or conducts that would open the door to extremism.

·        Confront any attempt to sow the seeds of dissidence, divide, and undermining social cohesion.

Working to deliver on the community commitments above and fostering social cohesion across Northern Sinjar, parties to this agreement seek support from the Iraqi state institutions and international community to implement the following recommendations:

·        Settle the issue of administrative arrangements in Sinjar district to put an end to the suffering of locals who bear transportation costs of long journeys since the administrative capital of the district is located far and outside the area.

·        Consolidate the security arrangements by making all security forces report to a single administration that receives orders from the government and operates within the purview of its security process.   

·        Organize effective aid and relief campaigns to address the destruction and ruin Sinjar has suffered when it was under the control of the terrorist organization ISIS or during the military operations to defeat it; the volume of support and logistics provided for reconstruction purposes has been modest so far and falls short of being commensurate to the level of devastation.