North Rhine-Westphalia has issued an immediate ban on deportations for Yazidi women and children. The measure initially applies for three months and can be extended once by the state, as the NRW Ministry for Flight and Integration confirmed on Monday at the request of the Evangelical Press Service (epd). The decision was made in view of the “difficult human rights situation” for the Yazidi minority in Iraq.
Yazidi women and children in particular are exposed to considerable danger in northern Iraq, the ministry said. Forced prostitution, the recruitment of child soldiers and enslavement have repeatedly occurred in the Yazidi settlement areas. According to reports from human rights organizations, numerous women were abducted and sold by fighters from the IS terrorist militia.
According to the information, North Rhine-Westphalia is the only federal state that has currently imposed a formal ban on deportations for members of the Yazidi minority. North Rhine-Westphalia's refugee minister Josefine Paul (Greens) said she had unsuccessfully advocated for a nationwide stop at the Federal Ministry of the Interior “several times and over a long period of time.” Paul called on Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) to “create a legally secure perspective” for Yazidis as quickly as possible.
According to information from the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, almost 4,000 asylum applications were submitted by Yazidi people in Germany between January and September 2023.
#North #RhineWestphalia #stops #deportation #Yazidis