To date, no international body or Iraqi court has tried ISIS members for sexual violence or genocide against the Yazidis. Up to 3,000 women and girls who were abducted are still missing. Survivors of sexual violence—many of whom have borne children as a result of rape—face legal and other barriers in re-integrating into their families and communities. The international community, including the United States, has a responsibility to promote justice and accountability for crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide. 

 Nadia’s Initiative, an organization founded by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Nadia Murad, has been at the forefront of the global effort to hold ISIS accountable for its crimes. The organization also works to rebuild the Yazidi community in Sinjar and advocates for an end to sexual violence as a weapon of war. All of Nadia’s Initiative programs are community-driven, survivor centric, and designed to promote long term peacebuilding. 

For the 2022-2023 academic year, students in Georgetown’s Human Rights Advocacy in Action Practicum supported the mission of Nadia’s Initiative by working under the supervision of experienced human rights advocates: HRI Executive Director Elisa Massimino, Deputy Director Michelle Liu, and 2023-2025 Dash-Muse Senior Teaching Fellow Catherine Cooper. Students in the practicum had a unique opportunity to conduct legal and factual research, craft solutions, and develop an advocacy campaign with real-world impact.  

Students and supervisors worked closely with Nadia’s Initiative to support its goals. The practicum’s projects focused on: 1) strengthening US government support for the Yazidi community, including holding perpetrators of genocide and crimes against humanity accountable; 2) evaluating the potential for ICC prosecutions and ensuring that survivors’ perspectives are incorporated into future justice mechanisms; and 3) promoting the rights of children conceived as a result of sexual assault and their mothers, and encouraging conditions for a successful return to society.