Urgent appeal to extend UNITAD's work on ISIS crimes

Shafaq News / MP Mahma Khalil appealed to Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani on Friday to extend the work of the investigative team (UNITAD) responsible for investigating ISIS crimes, stating that "ending the team's mission before completing its investigations represents a major setback for the Yazidi cause and the global quest for justice."

Khalil stated that "the reasons for terminating the work of UNITAD before completing its investigations or uncovering the secrets of ISIS and its collaborators were due to tensions between Iraq and the United Nations." He expressed his hope to "resolve these disputes and extend the team's work."

He added that "ending the team's work prematurely is not appropriate, as it possesses a comprehensive bank of information. Extending its work will increase the abundance of information and documents regarding ISIS crimes, allowing the government to have access to these documents and information and use them in international courts against states, organizations, and parties that supported ISIS."

Khalil emphasized the importance of "reconstituting the committee and allowing it to continue its investigations until the return of displaced Yazidis, achieving transitional justice, healing wounds, closing the file of return, investigating the fate of the missing individuals, numbering more than 2,500, and also uncovering mass graves."

He clarified that "among the information held by the team are the countries to which ISIS members who came to Iraq during the crisis belong, and their commission of crimes against humanity against Yazidis and other Iraqi people. Additionally, the fate of the missing individuals from the Yazidi community."

The Yazidi representative also stressed the necessity for "the government to demand compensation from these countries for all the crimes committed by ISIS in Sinjar, Speicher, or any other region of Iraq."

Khalil concluded by stating that "judicial prosecutions for international crimes ensure meaningful participation of victims in criminal proceedings, enhancing the centrality of victims and survivors. Such trials recognize the suffering of victims and allow their voices to be heard through evidence-based trials that prove the heinous crimes committed by ISIS against them."

Sinjar, located in Iraq's Nineveh governorate, has been a focal point of conflict and displacement due to the presence of various armed groups and the complex ethno-religious dynamics of the region.

The area, home to a significant Yazidi population, faced a genocide by ISIS in 2014, resulting in mass displacement and atrocities.

Since then, efforts to stabilize Sinjar and facilitate the return of displaced Yazidis have been challenging, with issues including security concerns, political tensions, and the presence of different armed factions vying for control.

Despite liberation from ISIS, Sinjar remains politically and militarily contested, complicating reconstruction and reconciliation efforts.