Beginning in August 2014, IS carried out a targeted attack on the Yazidis, which the UN has recognized as a genocide.

More than 3,000 Yazidi men, women and children were unlawfully killed, and at least 6,800 more – primarily women and children – were abducted by IS.

IS perpetrated a catalogue of horrific violations against Yazidis, subjecting women and girls to sexual and other forms of slavery, and forcing boys to fight as child soldiers.

Following the territorial defeat of IS in March 2019, an estimated 2,600 Yazidis remain missing, according to the Office for Kidnapped Yazidis in Dohuk.

A significant proportion are believed to be in north-east Syria after being abducted and transported there by IS. Yazidi rights organisations and activists estimate there are large numbers of Yazidis caught up in the sprawling system of detention established to hold people with perceived IS affiliation in north-east Syria.

This system is run by the Autonomous Administration of the North and East Syria Region (autonomous authorities), with the support of the US-led military coalition established to defeat IS.

Lauren Aarons, Amnesty International’s senior adviser on gender, conflict and international justice, said: “The Yazidi community suffered unthinkable harm at the hands of Islamic State. Ten years after IS first launched its attack against the Yazidis, their suffering continues today, as thousands remain missing.

“Many Yazidis who were mistakenly swept up following the collapse of IS have been languishing in indefinite detention in dire and life-threatening conditions in north-east Syria. These Yazidis must now be identified, freed and provided with the ongoing support they need.”