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Prominent Yazidi (Yezidi) human rights activist Nadia Murad and the Yazda global Yazidi organization have welcomed the recognition of the Yazidi Genocide by the Armenian parliament, describing it as a ‘historic moment’.

“Today is a historic moment for the entire Yezidi community worldwide and for victims of this genocide. We welcome this important step especially as it comes from a country which, in recent history, has suffered greatly from genocide,” they said in a released statement.

“I am touched by today’s decision and I would like to express my gratitude to the people of Armenia and their representatives in Parliament. Acknowledgment of the Genocide means a lot to me and all the victims of genocide.” said Nadia Murad, UNODC Goodwill Ambassador for dignity of Survivors of Human Trafficking.

Nadia Murad, who escaped Daesh militants in 2014, was in Yeravan in 2016 to attend the Second Global Forum Against the Crime of Genocide. She was among more than 5,000 Yazidi women taken captive when ISIS swept through the group’s territories in northern Iraq.

“In 2014 ISIS fighters rounded up all Yazidis in Iraq as they saw them as “nonbelievers”. They wanted to kill men and take the younger women into slavery. I am myself a Yezidi girl from Shingal,” Nadia stressed.

The National Assembly of Armenia on Tuesday adopted a draft statement condemning the genocide perpetrated against the Yazidi people by terrorist groups on the territories of Iraq under their control. The legislative measure was adopted with a vote of 91 for and 1 abstention.