UN Reporters Call for Trial of ISIS Group for War Crimes

On Thursday, the United Nations called on the International Criminal Court to prosecute members of the Islamic State group for genocide and war crimes. UN human rights reporters released their report on the crimes of this group in Iraq on Thursday, March 18, in Geneva. The report, based on interviews with over a hundred victims and witnesses of crimes in Iraq, urges the UN Security Council to refer the case to the International Criminal Court so that the perpetrators, including foreign members of ISIS, can be prosecuted. Hani Megali, head of the UN Human Rights Office for Asia, the Pacific, the Middle East, and North Africa, stated at a press conference in Geneva: "It is clear that during the conflicts, international war crimes and crimes against humanity, and possibly genocide, have occurred, particularly concerning the Yazidis." This senior official also emphasized the importance of preserving and collecting evidence for the prosecution of these crimes. The UN Human Rights Office report also mentions that Iraqi forces may have committed some war crimes. UN reporters have called on the Iraqi government to join the International Criminal Court in The Hague or to pursue the crimes under domestic laws. The UN Human Rights Council began its investigations in September last year when ISIS captured large parts of northern and western Iraq. The report indicates that there has been a specific pattern of attacks by ISIS against Yazidis, Christians, and other ethnic and religious minorities. According to Reuters, UN senior reporter Suki Nagra stated: "No group in Iraq has been spared from ISIS violence, and essentially what we see is the complete destruction of Iraq's rich ethnic and religious diversity." The UN senior reporter noted that a large number of foreign militants, mainly from neighboring countries and a few Western nations, have been involved in the crimes. He refrained from providing details in this regard. Unofficial statistics estimate the number of Yazidi victims by ISIS to be in the hundreds. Suki Nagra did not provide specific figures but mentioned that nearly three thousand Yazidi women, children, and some men remain captive by ISIS. The UN senior reporter added that mass graves have been discovered in areas recently reclaimed by Iraqi forces from ISIS. The UN Human Rights Office report also details other accusations against ISIS, such as the use of chlorine gas, treating women and children as war spoils, and brutal punishments including stoning and amputations.