The Security Council Decides on Assisting Investigations Related to ISIS Actions in Iraq

The Security Council is on the verge of deciding on a resolution that will allow UN inspectors to assist the Iraqi government in investigating extremists from the Islamic State group suspected of committing war crimes. The Associated Press reported on Saturday, September 16, citing a UN Security Council diplomat, that discussions regarding this resolution are currently not public, and it is hoped that the Security Council will vote on it next Thursday, September 21. This Security Council diplomat did not disclose their name due to the confidential nature of the discussions. The draft resolution requests the UN Secretary-General to appoint a group of inspectors to assist the Iraqi government in gathering evidence indicating the commission of 'war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide' by the Islamic State group or ISIS. The Associated Press writes that in this regard, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, Iraq's foreign minister, informed UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres last month that his country, along with Britain, is working on the draft resolution. According to this news agency, Amal Clooney, a human rights lawyer, had asked the Iraqi Prime Minister last year to request assistance from the UN in this matter. Ms. Clooney, who represents some of the victims of ISIS, had urged Iraq to facilitate the UN investigation into the crimes of this group. At that time, Reuters reported that Britain was preparing a draft to establish a UN investigative group, but the same news agency quoted Amal Clooney as saying that Iraq should formally request assistance from the UN in a letter before the Security Council vote on this matter. Reuters referenced a report by UN experts from late June last year, in which ISIS was accused of genocide against the Yazidi minority in Iraq and Syria and committing acts such as mass killings, sexual slavery, and other crimes aimed at destroying this religious minority. The Yazidis are a religious and Kurdish ethnic group in Iraq, Syria, southeastern Turkey, and the Caucasus region, whose beliefs combine elements of several ancient Middle Eastern religions, Islam, Christianity, and Zoroastrianism, and ISIS considers this religious sect to be devil-worshippers. The number of followers of this faith is estimated to be around 500,000, with nearly 200,000 residing in Iraq; however, leaders of this sect estimate the number of their followers in Iraq to be between 600,000 and 700,000 and believe that there are more than one and a half million followers worldwide.