A petition supported by IARF was presented to the Dutch House of Representatives’ Committee for Asylum and Migration on 22 September 2026. HeerlenMondiaal reports that a small delegation delivered the petition, whose presentation board recorded 6,015 signatories.
IARF co-signed the petition, following its support for young Yezidis in the Netherlands earlier this year. At Ipenburg attended the presentation.
The concerns raised
The petition, published in Dutch, asks the authorities to reassess the protection available to Yezidis who face return to Iraq. Its organisers point to continuing insecurity and displacement, the absence of effective protection, and inadequate living conditions and services in areas of return. They argue that these circumstances require particular attention in asylum decisions.
Yezidis are an ethnic and religious minority from Iraq. The petition places their present concerns in the context of the 2014 genocide perpetrated by ISIS and its continuing consequences for survivors and displaced families. It asks for a reassessment of their specific vulnerability and of the conditions for a safe and sustainable return.
Following up on IARF’s June appeal
On 19 June, IARF published an appeal about the petition, inviting members and readers resident in the Netherlands to read and share it. The parliamentary handover is the next reported stage of that campaign. Presenting a petition does not, in itself, constitute a change in asylum policy or a decision on individual applications.
The organisers’ handover report includes photographs and links to Dutch newspaper coverage. The full petition text is also available in Dutch.
Featured image: an archive photograph of a Yezidi demonstration, not the September 2026 petition handover. “Yazidis-2” by Michael Swan (michael_swan), CC BY-ND 2.0, reused from IARF’s June appeal.