Mrs. Warda said, despite all the efforts and assistance that Hammurabi had provided to the Yazidis, we feel that we are still failing to address the horrific genocide they have been subjected to.
On Monday, March 10, 2025, Mrs. Pascale Warda, Chairwoman of Hammurabi Human Rights Organization, along with a large gathering of Sinjar residents and distinguished dignitaries, open a Center of Legal Services in Sinjar.
With God blessings Mrs. Warda cut the ribbon to announce the opening of the center, after preparations and arrangements done several months ago to complete equipping with the necessary furniture, and technology .
The ceremony was attended by Mr. William Warda, Director of Public Relations and Supervisor of the Center
Mr. Saed Shamu ,the director of the center address a welcoming speech explaining the objectives and importance of the Center , providing a brief overview of its structure.
Mr. Shamu stated the tasks and the type of free assistance by providing the identification documents (Identity Card) which were lost as a result of displacement and immigration as well as property documents and compensation transactions due to the destruction and looting by ISIS terrorist organizations that Sinjar residents were exposed to in 2014 ,
as well as the transactions of survivors covered by the Survivors' Act and Personal Status Affairs of marriage, births, deaths and other services, individual legal consultations and group awareness sessions on laws and procedures related to community service in Sinjar.
Mrs. Pascale Warda, Chairwoman of the Hammurabi Organization talked about the role of the organization in defending the rights of minorities, especially the Yazidis, explaining that the Hammurabi Organization is not only working today for the benefit of the Sinjar community and its people.
As legally, this may be the first project, but it was a pioneer in supporting the Yazidis before the displacement and before the genocide occurred in 2014 . as the organization was advocating for their rights, developing their areas, and taking care of their conditions since 2010, implementing awareness projects there to reduce the phenomenon of suicide,
Mrs. Warda added. "The organization continued to support Yazidis in areas of displacement after ISIS's invasion of their areas and provided all possible winter clothing, blankets, medicines and financial and in-kind assistance, both in Sinjar Dohuk, Erbil, Sulaymaniyah and the Nineveh plain. However despite all these assistance and efforts, we feel that we are still falling short of the terrible genocide of Yazidi society. The process of supporting and assisting must be the responsibility of all Government, organizations and stakeholders " .
Mrs. Warda also stressed, “Today we are focusing on supporting the return and we have implemented small projects for women and needy youth in Sinjar and its compounds for those who have suffered displacement, kidnapping, captivity and the unemployed to improve their livelihoods in partnership with our partners, especially Christian Solidarity International. We have also provided assistance to transport families from the camps to Sinjar.”
The main objective of our launched project is providing services to the Yazidi people of Sinjar and other residents of the district, to support their return and resilience and reduce migration by supporting their survival through overcoming the difficulties and challenges in completing their legal transactions, in terms of property matters, lost documents, compensation, personal status issues, and providing free advice and other services" .
In her speech, Mrs. Warda called on the people of Sinjar, state institutions, and international and local civil society organizations operating in Sinjar to cooperate with the center to provide the best services, expressing that Hammurabi had chosen competent and experienced lawyers and specialists from the people of Sinjar, to manage and run the center. They work throughout the week, excluding official holidays, to provide the service free of charge to those who really need it.
Hadi Baba Sheikh, one of the most important social figures in the Yazidi community, said, “On behalf of the people of Sinjar in general and Yazidis in Sinjar, we express our thank to the Hammurabi Human Rights Organization and its partners, CSI, for undertaking this humanitarian project to provide legal support in Sinjar, which the citizens of Sinjar consider to be in dire need of at the present time.” Mr. Baba Sheikh praised the role of the Hammurabi Organization and its positions in helping the Yazidis in their plight.
The opening ceremony agenda included short speeches by other Yazidi dignitaries from Sinjar. Mr. Saed Mendo, a Sinjar dignitary, said, “The Hammurabi Organization has been with us in our suffering from the outset and has not wavered or failed in providing services when we were displaced and staying inside and outside the camps in Dohuk and Erbil and even those in Baghdad, therefore, we thank the Hammurabi Organization and its partner the Christian Solidarity International, for their support of the Yazidis people”. we also thank for their initiative to open a legal services center in Sinjar, which is a blessed step that adds to their ongoing humanitarian efforts to support our people in Sinjar in completing transactions in the institutional departments and courts free of charge".
Mr. Mendo added. “With this opportunity we express our appreciation to all the European, American, Canadian and other humanitarian organizations that have contributed to supporting our people in their plight" .
Mr. William Warda, Director of Public Relations of the Organization and Supervisor of the Center, told Nergal News Network, "The Hammurabi Organization has been working to open this center since mid-2024, getting official approvals and preparing the necessary logistics, after receiving a grant from Christian Solidarity International CSI.
Last February, a committee from the Hammurabi Organization interviewed 20 people, whose resumes were sorted from a total of 120 people applied on the special platform the organization opened to receive applications for positions at this center."
The result of the name sorting and interviews was the appointment of a Director of the Centre, two lawyers and one accounts officer with a driver and service workers, as the organization used professional standards based on professionalism, competence and transparency.
The ceremony was attended by representatives of government institutions, civil society organizations, and social figures, including Yazda Organization, Petrikor Human Rights Organization, Naseem Sinjar Organization for persons with disabilities, Norwegian People's Aid, Halat Organization, Nabu Organization, a representative of the Yazidi Movement, a representative of the Yazidi Progress Party, Mr. Hadi Baba Sheikh, Mr. Hasso Mishko, and representatives of the Community Police and the Al-Qahtaniya Community Committee.
