​This study addresses the forced migration and internal displacement of ethnic and religious minorities in the so-called disputed areas of Iraq, with a focus on the Yazidi minority. Since the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, the populations of these areas, especially non-Muslim religious minorities, have been targeted by jihadi organisations and armed groups. This persecution reached its peak following the invasion of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in 2014 and the perpetration of genocide against the Yazidi minority, which fled or was forcibly displaced to Kurdish areas in the north and Arab areas in central and southern Iraq. The Yazidi minority was almost entirely uprooted and displaced to cities in the Kurdistan Region. This study covers contextual developments and gaps related to an Iraqi minority in the disputed areas, discussing the factors and obstacles preventing the return of displaced Yazidis to the Sinjar region.