YouSaid · the spoken record

Karim Asad Ahmad Khan

lines on the record: 63
first: 2020-06-15
most recent: 2021-05-10
sittings or episodes: 3
sources: un-security-council

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“It is fitting that we are joined today by Ms. Nadia Murad, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, whose call to action and appeal to our collective conscience gave rise to the establishment of UNITAD. As the Team moves into a crucial phase of its work, we must remain conscious of the promise made to Ms. Murad and all communities impacted by ISIL crimes that the international community will stand with them in ensuring those responsible for such acts are held accountable.”
2021-05-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/460 (2021) · source
“The message I have received from community leaders, religious authorities and survivor groups is consistent and clear. If we are to meaningfully address the legacy of ISIL crimes in Iraq, justice must be the basis on which such efforts are built. The imperative of heeding these calls was underlined to me in March this year as our Team supported the return of remains of 103 Yazidi men recovered from mass graves previously excavated in Kojo village. In that profound setting, I was struck that the pain reflected among families present is also felt constantly by the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis from Yazidi, Shia, Sunni, Kaka’i, Christian and other communities who have lost family members or had their lives irreversibly impacted by the crimes of ISIL. So many will not even have the chance to bury those they loved.”
2021-05-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/460 (2021) · source
“Through the progress made by the Team in the collection of evidence and the parallel strengthening of channels available for its use in national courts, I believe a path has now been set, in collaboration with our Iraqi partners, for the successful completion of the Team’s work. Reflecting this, I have outlined in my report a series of steps that would allow for the conduct of trials in Iraq addressing key crimes committed against all impacted communities, drawing extensively on the evidence collected by the Team. I consider it possible that such trials could begin next year. In taking these steps together, we must ensure that focus remains on those we have ultimately been mandated to serve. Throughout my time as Head of the Team I have sought to ensure our work draws on deep connections with the communities of Iraq.”
2021-05-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/460 (2021) · source
“Combining this training with our ongoing support to Iraqi authorities in the excavation of mass grave sites and the digitization of documentary evidence, the Team has sought to establish a strong basis on which prosecutions of ISIL members for international crimes may be taken forward swiftly following the establishment of an appropriate legal basis in Iraq. Our ongoing and strengthening partnership with survivor groups, non- governmental organizations and religious authorities has also continued to be central to progress in investigative activities. I would wish to extend my sincere thanks to all of our Iraqi partners for the invaluable contribution they have made in our collective pursuit of accountability for ISIL crimes.”
2021-05-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/460 (2021) · source
“Last week, I was delighted to inaugurate a new 10-part training course on international criminal law for 27 senior judges and prosecutors. Delivered in collaboration with the Australian National University, this course will provide participants with in- depth knowledge of international criminal law and its application to the crimes of ISIL. Building on this basis, our Team will mentor individual judges in the construction of case files against specific ISIL members for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.”
2021-05-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/460 (2021) · source
“This is reflected in particular through the excellent cooperation and collaboration our Team has developed with the Government of Iraq throughout my time as Special Adviser. As reflected in my report, the cooperation and assistance received from the national coordinating committee responsible for facilitating our work in Iraq have remained central to progress achieved. The Iraqi judiciary has continued to be exemplary in its engagement with the Team, working with us as partners in the digitization of evidence and providing extensive information that has accelerated investigations. The Kurdistan Regional Government has also provided steadfast support for our Team. As channels begin to be opened for information-sharing with Iraqi authorities, we have also expanded our provision of capacity-building support.”
2021-05-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/460 (2021) · source
“As reflected in my report, a total of 14 States have requested the Team’s assistance with respect to ongoing national proceedings. Drawing on our expanded evidentiary holdings, and in particular our exploitation of internal ISIL documentation, we have been able to respond positively to a significant majority of requests received. Much of the progress and activities I have described to you today have emphasized one of the key principles of our strategic approach: innovation. As Council members may be aware, on Wednesday this week UNITAD will participate in an Arria Formula meeting highlighting some of the key ways in which we have harnessed technology and drawn on advanced psychosocial practices to accelerate our investigations. However, equally important is the other core principle underlying all of our activities: that of partnership.”
2021-05-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/460 (2021) · source
“I am also pleased to inform the Security Council that, last week, legislation was presented before the Parliament of the Kurdistan region to establish a court with jurisdiction over international crimes committed by ISIL. I commend the President and Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government for their strong support for this legislation and for their efforts in securing accountability for these crimes. The adoption of this law could potentially represent an important moment in efforts to achieve the full implementation of our mandate. In parallel with these initiatives in Iraq, the Team has sought to harness existing channels for the use of its evidence in criminal proceedings, strengthening its support to other national authorities in response to requests for assistance.”
2021-05-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/460 (2021) · source
“In this spirit, I am pleased to be able to confirm to the Security Council that arrangements have now been put in place with the Iraqi judiciary that have allowed us to transfer evidence collected by the Team concerning financial crimes committed in support of ISIL activities in Iraq. This represents an important initial step in ensuring that our work contributes tangibly to accountability efforts in Iraq in a manner consistent with our terms of reference. I am also continuing to support efforts by the Iraqi Council of Representatives to adopt legislation establishing a legal basis for the prosecution of ISIL members in Iraq for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. This will be a further crucial step towards the delivery of comprehensive accountability for ISIL crimes in Iraq in partnership with our Team.”
2021-05-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/460 (2021) · source
“This investigation is developing rapidly, with an initial case brief anticipated to be completed and available to national authorities within five months. By the end of 2021, the Team also anticipates the completion of case briefs addressing crimes committed against Christian, Kaka’i, Shabak, Shia Turkmen and Sunni communities in Iraq, as well as the massacre of predominantly Shia inmates at Badush prison. In line with the mandate that the Security Council has provided, it is of course not sufficient for evidence to be collected and synthesized for findings to be reached and presented in reports. To fulfil this mandate, and most importantly to meet the expectations of survivors, our work must be put before national courts to prosecute those responsible for the horrific crimes that I have just described.”
2021-05-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/460 (2021) · source
“Information obtained from ISIL electronic devices has also led to the opening of a new investigation into the development and successful deployment of chemical and biological weapons by ISIL in Iraq. Evidence collected to date details how ISIL used laboratories at Mosul University as the epicentre of its chemical weapons programme, drawing on the expertise of scientists and medical professionals from Iraq and abroad. Initially weaponizing chlorine from water treatment plants overtaken in 2014, ISIL subsequently developed toxic lethal compounds, including thallium and nicotine, which were tested on live prisoners, leading to death. As its capacity strengthened, ISIL developed a sulfur mustard production system that was deployed in March 2016 through the firing of 40 rockets at the Turkmen Shia town of Tazah Khurmatu.”
2021-05-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/460 (2021) · source
“Furthermore, the Team has concluded, based on clear and convincing evidence, that a Da’esh video released in July 2015 showing these killings constitutes a direct and public incitement to commit genocide against Shia Muslims. The narration glorifying the horrifying images of these mass executions contains a repeated and clear exhortation to ISIL followers: “Kill them wherever you find them”. As the Team has finalized its initial case briefs in relation to its initial investigative priorities, we have also established key additional lines of investigation into crimes within our mandate. This has included the establishment of a new field investigation unit dedicated to the investigation of crimes committed against the Sunni community in Iraq.”
2021-05-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/460 (2021) · source
“Thousands of Yazidi women, boys and girls remain detached from their families or disappeared — and some even continue to be held by their original ISIL captors or those to whom they were sold. We will not forget them, and our work to ensure justice for all those impacted by these crimes will continue. Through investigations into the attacks by ISIL on predominantly Shia unarmed air cadets and personnel from Tikrit Air Academy, the Team has compiled and analysed extensive evidence detailing their capture, torture and mass execution. These acts were carried out in the most brutal circumstances imaginable, with many men humiliated prior to being killed. Based on its independent investigative work, the Team has concluded that these acts constitute the war crimes of murder, torture, cruel treatment and outrages upon personal dignity.”
2021-05-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/460 (2021) · source
“The intent of these acts was to permanently destroy the capacity of these women and children to have children and build families within the Yazidi community. The Team has also established that numerous other international crimes were also committed against the Yazidi community, including extermination, enslavement, sexual violence, forcible transfer, persecution on religious and gender grounds and conscription of children into an armed group. Yazidi children were in many cases directly targeted and disproportionately impacted by Da’esh crimes. Anyone who escaped alive, but particularly children, carry daily the burden of the lasting effects of these crimes. But let us not forget: these crimes are ongoing.”
2021-05-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/460 (2021) · source
“I can confirm to the Security Council that, based on our independent criminal investigations, UNITAD has established clear and convincing evidence that genocide was committed by ISIL against the Yazidi as a religious group. The intent of ISIL to destroy the Yazidi, physically and biologically, is manifest in its ultimatum — applied remorselessly to all members of their community — to convert or die. Thousands were killed pursuant to this ultimatum, either executed en masse, shot as they fled or dying from exposure on Mount Sinjar as they tried to escape. Thousands more were enslaved, with women and children abducted from their families and subjected to the most brutal abuses, including serial rape and other forms of unendurable sexual violence. For many this abuse lasted years, often leading to death.”
2021-05-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/460 (2021) · source
“Building on this progress, a landmark moment has been reached in our work, with initial case briefs completed in relation to two key investigative priorities: the mass killing of unarmed cadets and military personnel at Tikrit Air Academy in June 2014 and the attacks against the Yazidi community in the Sinjar region. The crimes committed against the Yezidi community represent some of the most brutal and widespread acts of violence inflicted by ISIL on the people of Iraq. The Team has established a detailed account of these atrocities through the excavation of mass grave sites, by ensuring the most vulnerable of witnesses have been able to come forward with their accounts and by collecting extensive documentary evidence, in cooperation with Iraqi authorities, non-governmental organizations and other partners.”
2021-05-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/460 (2021) · source
“In parallel, the introduction of advanced technological tools has further enhanced our evidence-processing capabilities, allowing investigators to search rapidly across data sets in order to reconstruct events, respond to targeted requests for information and ensure that evidence is properly corroborated. In a significant development, the application of artificial intelligence and machine learning tools in the analysis of internal ISIL databases now allows the Team to establish clear timelines of the activities of key ISIL members. Drawing together information from ISIL immigration records, medical records, payment logs and fighter rosters, we have directly tied persons of interest to ISIL battalions and crime scenes.”
2021-05-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/460 (2021) · source
“UNITAD is now a fully functioning investigation team capable of addressing some of the key challenges faced by national authorities in prosecuting members of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) for their crimes in Iraq. Drawing on this infrastructure, the Team rapidly expanded its evidentiary holdings in the past six months, including significant developments in the collection of forensic evidence from mass grave sites, digital data extracted from ISIL hard drives and the digitization of documentary case files, in cooperation with Iraqi authorities.”
2021-05-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/460 (2021) · source
“Today, two and half years on, I am pleased to be able to report on the activities of more than 200 staff, including national experts appointed in consultation with the Government of Iraq, working from offices in Baghdad, Dahuk, Erbil and New York and harnessing the investigative activities of six field investigation units addressing crimes committed against all communities in Iraq. Specialized thematic units on gender-based crimes and crimes against children, financial tracking and witness protection are providing targeted support across all aspects of our work, while a dedicated mass-graves unit has now successfully supported excavations at 22 sites.”
2021-05-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/460 (2021) · source
“I am honoured to address you this morning to present my sixth and final report (see S/2021/419) as Special Adviser and Head of the United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da’esh/Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (UNITAD). In December 2018, I provided my first briefing to you (see S/PV.8412), outlining how our Team of five staff members in Iraq had begun work on the implementation of the innovative mandate established pursuant to resolution 2379 (2017), at the request of the Government of Iraq.”
2021-05-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/460 (2021) · source
“While the challenges of the past six months have been unprecedented, the Team looks forward to the coming year with renewed hope that the legitimate demands for justice of survivors will be met. The unique partnership underpinning the Team’s mandate — between independent investigations based on close collaboration with national authorities and international standards adapted to domestic contexts — is working. That innovative model of criminal accountability, developed by the Council three years ago, now provides an opportunity to instigate a paradigm shift in the investigation and prosecution of Da’esh crimes. In seeking to grasp this moment, the Team will continue to rely on Council members’ unanimous support.”
2020-12-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1193 (2020) · source
“As reflected in my report, with a view to establishing a comprehensive framework for the next stages of our work, we have enhanced our investigative strategy in order to ensure the effective delivery of its three mutually supportive pillars. Through the production of thematic case briefs outlining the constituent elements of crimes substantiated by our investigations, the finalization of individual case files tying Da’esh members to the crimes they have committed and the provision of targeted support for ongoing proceedings, I believe that in the coming year we will significantly strengthen the basis on which Iraqi authorities and those of other States can take forward domestic proceedings in relation to those members of Da’esh most responsible for its crimes.”
2020-12-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1193 (2020) · source
“It is by divorcing their criminal actions from any religious basis or justification that we can inoculate future generations in Iraq — and globally — from attempts to radicalize the most vulnerable members of society. In that spirit, I am delighted that His Holiness Pope Francis will visit Iraq in the coming year. Two years after the arrival of our initial team in Baghdad, the progress that we have made in our investigative work, allied with the crucial partnerships that we have developed with our Iraqi counterparts, has allowed us to begin now to consider what the ultimate fulfilment of our mandate will look like.”
2020-12-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1193 (2020) · source
“In July, building on the adoption of the landmark interfaith statement on the survivors and victims of ISIL earlier this year, I was delighted to host a joint meeting with the Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect and with Religions for Peace, at which the leaders of the Shia, Sunni, Yazidi, Christian and Kaka’i faiths in Iraq reiterated their common commitment to support the prosecution of ISIL members in fair trials, in cooperation with UNITAD. As reflected in the interfaith statement itself, the collective support of faith leaders across Iraq for the work of our Team represents a crucial repudiation of any claim by Da’esh to scriptural legitimacy.”
2020-12-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1193 (2020) · source
“The creation of that platform represents the fulfilment of a priority I had set at the outset of our work to ensure that all parts of Iraqi civil society, in particular non-governmental organizations connected to the communities of Iraq, benefit from a dedicated space in which they can engage openly with our Team. Those entities have already served as crucial partners in the implementation of our mandate through their role in facilitating engagement with impacted communities and empowering survivors to come forward with their accounts. I am delighted that we now have a forum in which we can benefit from their expertise and unique perspective. In addition to our partnership with Iraqi civil society, I have continued to be profoundly grateful to the religious leadership of Iraq for the support of its representatives for our work.”
2020-12-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1193 (2020) · source
“To that end, I can also confirm to the Council that I have continued to engage with the Government of Iraq with a view to establishing modalities for the sharing of evidence with the competent Iraqi authorities in accordance with the terms of reference. In parallel, we have also reinforced our engagement with national authorities in other jurisdictions through the provision of support in ongoing domestic proceedings in line with our mandate. In the past six months, that spirit of partnership in the face of adversity has also extended to our engagement with all parts of Iraqi society. Our cooperation S/2020/1193 with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in particular has been strengthened through the establishment and initial meetings of the UNITAD-NGO Dialogue Forum.”
2020-12-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1193 (2020) · source
“Allied with the potential adoption of legislation in Iraq allowing for the prosecution of international crimes, we can, for the first time, begin to see a clear path towards the fulfilment of the promise made by the Council to survivors and impacted communities three years ago in resolution 2379 (2017). As I have reflected previously to the Council, that commitment is not made good solely through the collection and preservation of evidence. It is not sufficient for us to simply gather evidence of ISIL crimes. Our commitment will be satisfied only when the evidence is presented in court and survivors of ISIL atrocities are able to see their abusers held accountable in accordance with the rule of law.”
2020-12-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1193 (2020) · source
“In the past six months, our cooperation with the Iraqi judiciary has entered a new phase, with agreement reached on a new project through which the Team will provide training and support to Iraqi investigative judges in building case files for the prosecution of ISIL members for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. I am pleased to note that progress has already been made in that regard, with initial case files identified for development in relation to the widespread sexual slavery committed by ISIL and a high-level member of ISIL who is currently in detention. I wish to emphasize that the arrangement for the provision of meaningful support by UNITAD to Iraqi investigative judges represents an important moment in the implementation of our mandate.”
2020-12-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1193 (2020) · source
“I have been very encouraged in recent months by the efforts made in the Iraq Council of Representatives to take forward legislation that would allow for the prosecution of ISIL crimes under Iraqi domestic law as war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. That would be a significant step forward in responding to the calls of survivors for prosecutions to reflect the true nature and gravity of the crimes inflicted upon them by ISIL. I am further encouraged that such legislation contemplates a modality through which UNITAD may support such prosecutions in a manner consistent with its terms of reference. The initiative should engender the support of all Member States seeking to promote accountability for ISIL crimes.”
2020-12-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1193 (2020) · source
“During my recent meeting with His Excellency the Prime Minister of Iraq, we recognized that it is through such a unified approach that we can together ensure that the evidence of ISIL crimes in Iraq is fully harnessed in domestic efforts to hold those responsible to account. That collaborative approach has also been reflected in my recent meetings with the Prime Minister and President of the Kurdistan Regional Government, to whom I am grateful for their ongoing support in the implementation of the mandate of the Team. As reflected in my report, that commitment to delivering meaningful accountability for ISIL crimes has also extended to recent action taken by the Iraqi authorities with respect to the legal basis for the prosecution of ISIL members in Iraq.”
2020-12-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1193 (2020) · source
“More than 18 Iraqi authorities have now engaged in the project, completing initial evidence-assessment surveys and confirming existing challenges in evidence storage and processing. That initial work has underlined the significant scale of evidentiary material that will ultimately be collected, stored and made available in criminal proceedings through the initiative. Through our recent engagement with one counter-terrorism S/2020/1193 court in northern Iraq, the Team has identified tens of thousands of pieces of evidentiary material, including a wide range of internal ISIL records of potential relevance to ongoing cases against identified perpetrators.”
2020-12-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1193 (2020) · source
“Excavations are now clearly aligned with the criminal investigative priorities of both Iraqi authorities and UNITAD, with support provided by the Team in the deployment of advanced technological tools and evidence-collection practices to ensure that such sites are addressed in line with international standards. The utmost priority is also being given to ensuring the prompt return of remains to the families of victims, which, it has been confirmed, will commence before the end of this year. A major evidence-digitization project is now under way, aimed at making the vast documentary archives held by Iraqi authorities fully accessible for use in criminal proceedings for the first time.”
2020-12-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1193 (2020) · source
“Faced with the unprecedented challenges posed by COVID-19, UNITAD has further strengthened its cooperation with Iraqi authorities and those of the Kurdistan region. I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to the National Coordinating Committee of the Government of Iraq for the excellent support that it has provided during this extraordinary period. That cooperation is reflected in a significant step we have recently taken with the Government of Iraq and the International Commission on Missing Persons through the establishment of a joint national mass graves excavation strategy. For the first time, the strategy provides a unified, coherent framework guiding action across all mass grave excavation work in Iraq.”
2020-12-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1193 (2020) · source
“In parallel, the Team has continued to expand its lines of investigation, with six dedicated field investigation units now in place, including three new units established in large part thanks to generous financial contributions made by the United States and the United Kingdom. As a result, investigations in relation to crimes committed against the Christian, Kaka’i, Shabak, Sunni and Turkmen Shia communities are also now progressing rapidly. That diversification of our investigative work represents the realization of an undertaking I gave to the Council at the outset of our work — that we will ensure there is no “hierarchy of victim” (S/2020/547, annex 1, p. 4) in our approach to the implementation of our mandate. All communities in Iraq suffered at the hands of ISIL and all of them must be engaged in efforts to hold ISIL to account.”
2020-12-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1193 (2020) · source
“Through a recent initiative with the Microsoft Corporation, the Team has strengthened its ability to utilize facial detection and recognition, machine translation, and automatic detection and labelling of videos with graphic content. Drawing on those innovations, I can confirm to the Council that progress has continued in our key lines of investigation. As reflected in my report, that continued momentum allows us to now envisage the finalization of the first thematic case briefs in the first half of next year, addressing our investigations into crimes committed against the Yazidi community in Sinjar and the massacre of unarmed air cadets and other personnel in Tikrit.”
2020-12-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1193 (2020) · source
“The development of a new online portal allowing for the submission of evidence directly to the Team provides a safe, secure and user-friendly platform through which we have been able to empower members of impacted communities to come forward with their accounts.Through collaboration with Iraqi security services, we have been able to develop enhanced procedures for the movement of investigators in Iraq, ensuring that the most high-priority field activities can continue in compliance with COVID-19 travel restrictions. In parallel, we have partnered with leading technology companies in order to bring cutting-edge analytical tools into our work, significantly reducing the time needed for large-scale data processing.”
2020-12-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1193 (2020) · source
“It is my personal commitment that, as we continue our excavations in Zaghrutiyah, Anbar and Mosul early next year, our Team will ensure that the work, and indeed all of our investigative activities, are guided by a trauma- informed approach. The recommencement of mass grave excavations one month ago provides one example of the way in which the Team has developed innovative solutions and drawn on its partnership with survivors, Iraqi national counterparts and other actors in order to confront the unprecedented challenges posed by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) over the past six months. New approaches have been required across all aspects of our work. The collection of testimonial evidence has continued following the development of new protocols facilitating the conduct of remote interviews.”
2020-12-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1193 (2020) · source
“Our work at those sites and the presence of those who have lost their family members at the hands of ISIL underline both the continued urgency of our task and the need to ensure that our work is conducted in a manner sensitive to the experiences of those whom we seek to serve. The psychosocial support provided on site by UNITAD experts and the holding of a Yazidi religious ceremony upon the commencement of excavations reflect our attempts to ensure that those who have suffered from the crimes of Da’esh receive the compassion and understanding they need, as we work with them to hold the perpetrators to account.”
2020-12-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1193 (2020) · source
“Last month, I was again able to personally bear witness to the strength and courage of those communities, standing side by side with the families of victims at the “grave of the mothers” site at the Solagh Technical Institute in Sinjar, as our Team supported its excavation. The mass grave serves as a reminder of the depths of horrors inflicted by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) on the people of Iraq, containing the remains of teenage children and women executed after having been deemed to be past child-bearing age. In speaking with the sons, daughters and other relatives of those whose remains lay in that grave, I was struck, as I have been so often in my engagement with impacted communities in Iraq, by the painfully present legacy of trauma that ISIL has left in its wake.”
2020-12-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1193 (2020) · source
“I am honoured to be able to address the Security Council this afternoon to present the fifth report (see S/2020/1107) on the activities of the United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da’esh/ Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (UNITAD). Today marks three years since the Government of Iraq was able to proclaim that the sacrifices and courage of the Iraqi people had prevailed and that all territories in their country had been liberated from the shadow of Da’esh. I wish to begin today by recognizing the continued strength and resilience of all communities of Iraq, which have been so central both in delivering that victory and in taking the subsequent steps, together with our team, to deliver justice for the victims and survivors of Da’esh crimes.”
2020-12-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/1193 (2020) · source
“It is essential that we continue to demonstrate the same urgency of action that is being demanded by survivors in Mosul, Baghdad, Sinjar, the Ninewa plains and elsewhere across Iraq. As the Team now seeks to resume its field-based investigations, in cooperation with the Iraqi authorities, it is this courageous hope and legitimate expectation of all survivors that will continue to drive us forward.”
2020-06-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/547 (2020) · source
“These were the words of the Dean that evening: “This is hope”. I would ask all of us to reflect on both the encouragement and deep sense of responsibility inherent in those words. In the 20 months since our arrival in Iraq, real progress has been made. The recent breakthroughs in the identification and exploitation of new evidentiary sources have cleared the path to making good on our promise to these communities. I am also grateful for the support of all members of the Council and the broader membership of the United Nations to the Team, whether financial or through expert personnel, which will continue to be essential in supporting our work. But we must not allow our focus to shift.”
2020-06-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/547 (2020) · source
“Further reflecting our commitment to engaging all communities and stakeholders in our work, I was pleased to host roundtable discussions earlier this month with both Iraqi and international non-governmental organizations, with a total of over 50 organizations participating. I was personally delighted with the positive nature and outcomes of these discussions and I underlined my commitment that these meetings will serve as the starting point for a wider and ongoing dialogue with non-governmental organizations and survivor groups in the form of a periodic dialogue forum.Allow me to conclude today by returning to the optimism and expectation of those students, families, teachers and other community members that waited late into the evening this March to speak with our Team at Mosul University.”
2020-06-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/547 (2020) · source
“I was particularly encouraged that through the Statement, Iraqi religious leaders issued a common call for action to ensure that survivors of sexual and gender- based violence, as well as those children affected by ISIL crimes, do not suffer from stigmatization as a result of their experiences, and also underlined their unanimous support for the work of the Team in accordance with the mandate provided by the Council. I look forward to building on the momentum generated by the Statement in the coming months in order to strengthen the delivery of justice for the survivors among all communities in Iraq.”
2020-06-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/547 (2020) · source
“During my meetings with the leadership of the Catholic, Christian Orthodox, Shia, Sunni and Yazidi faiths in recent months, I have underlined my commitment to working closely with their communities to ensure that the crimes committed by ISIL against them are properly investigated and that those responsible are brought to justice. I was therefore delighted in March this year, together with Under-Secretary- General Adama Dieng, to welcome the adoption of the landmark Interfaith Statement on the Victims and Survivors of ISIL. Through this historic step, the leaders of all major faiths in Iraq came together to collectively repudiate the actions of ISIL as contrary to the principles of all faiths and underline their joint commitment to ensuring that those responsible are held accountable before national courts.”
2020-06-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/547 (2020) · source
“Barham Salih, Chief Justice Faiq Zidan and senior members of the Government of Iraq in which continued support was underlined for the passing of legislation, initiated by the President and currently before the Council of Representatives, which would allow for the prosecution in Iraq of these crimes. As reflected in my report, we have also continued to actively engage with national authorities globally in order to strengthen ongoing investigations and prosecutions in other Member States. The spirit of partnership reflected in my report has also continued to extend to our engagement with all parts of Iraqi society. I have made it a priority, in particular, to work in common cause with religious leaders and actors in pursuit of accountability.”
2020-06-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/547 (2020) · source
“It is with this common commitment in mind that I have continued to work with the Government of Iraq so as to strengthen the channels through which evidence collected by our Team can be used as a basis for the delivery of justice. To this end, I was pleased to present a strategy paper to the Government of Iraq in April this year laying out a path for the holding of trials in Iraq of ISIL members for war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide, in a manner consistent with the terms of reference of the Team. I was greatly encouraged by my recent meetings with the President of Iraq, Mr.”
2020-06-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/547 (2020) · source
“Of course, the promise made to survivors through resolution 2379 (2017) is not made good solely through the collection and preservation of evidence. While an S/2020/547 important endeavour, it is not sufficient for us to simply create an archive, a historic record of the ISIL crimes inflicted on the population of Iraq. Our commitment to the communities of Iraq will be satisfied only when justice is delivered in court, when the survivors of ISIL atrocities are able to see their abusers held accountable in accordance with the rule of law based on incontrovertible evidence collected in line with international standards.”
2020-06-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/547 (2020) · source
“Cooperation with the national coordinating committee has also been central to the implementation of a major evidence-digitization project launched by the Investigative Team this March, through which we will support national authorities and those of the Kurdistan Regional Government in digitizing hundreds of thousands of case-files, documents and digital evidentiary items connected with ISIL crimes. I have also continued to be grateful for the strong support of the Kurdistan Regional Government. I was pleased to speak with the Kurdistan Regional President this morning, when he underlined his personal commitment to ensuring the continued full support of all regional authorities for the work of the Team.”
2020-06-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/547 (2020) · source
“The partnership of the national coordinating committee appointed by the Government of Iraq has also been essential in the achievement of a significant milestone since my last briefing: the appointment of the initial group of national criminal law experts to the Team, in accordance with our terms of reference. This marks a turning point by significantly strengthening our ability to ensure our work responds to the specificities of the Iraqi domestic criminal framework and is reflective of the needs of communities across Iraq.”
2020-06-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/547 (2020) · source