The annual report of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) published on Tuesday called on the U.S. government to encourage the Iraqi federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to implement the Sinjar Agreement.

The USCIRF – an independent, bipartisan federal government entity that monitors religious freedom – underlined that the Sinjar Agreement should be implemented with the “full inclusion of the Yezidi community and to conduct a national and regional dialogue on potential reforms to more effectively protect religious freedom and ensure religious communities’ political representation.”

The report also stated that Erbil and Baghdad had made some progress toward recruiting up to 1,500 Sinjaris to a local police force, “but their failure to fully implement the 2020 Sinjar Agreement allowed for competing militias to intimidate residents and pressure young Yezidi men to join their ranks.”

The report also noted that in July, the Nineveh Provincial Council selected a Yezidi mayor for Sinjar, ostensibly fulfilling one provision of the Sinjar Agreement. “However, some reports suggested the appointment process reflected Popular Mobilization Forces influence rather than due consultation with Yezidi communities,” USCIRF said.

In October 2020, the Iraqi federal government and the KRG signed the Sinjar Agreement with support of the UN, aimed at revitalizing and stabilizing the situation in Sinjar and allowing the return of internally displaced persons that fled the advance of ISIS.

Read More: Federal Government Needs to Implement Sinjar Agreement: Interior Minister

Last year, KRG Minister of Interior Reber Ahmed said that the federal government of Iraq should implement the Sinjar Agreement, as no concrete action has been taken since its signing in 2020.