I recently attended a small Hill event on a beautiful day to remember a dark anniversary: Eleven years after the Islamic State began its genocide against Yezidis in Iraq, Yezidi speakers shared about their challenges and needs.

Convened in a small room deep in the Capitol Visitors Center, Yezidis shared stories of courage and pain. But no members of Congress attended, nor did any senior administration officials. It was a troubling symbol for how policymakers have forgotten their plight, as well as a warning sign for decreasing interest from both Republicans and Democrats in the issue of religious persecution.

In August 2014, in northern Iraq, a genocide began. ISIS slaughtered men and boys while enslaving and raping women and girls, all because they believed in something different. Eleven years later, the Yezidi community still struggles to recover.

I have been deeply involved with this community since my time in government, first at the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, and then later at the State Department in a special envoy role focusing on religious minorities in the Middle East during the Obama and Trump administrations.

The Yezidi community has been clear on their needs for years: they want........

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