YouSaid · the spoken record

Ritscher

lines on the record

109

first

2021-12-02

most recent

2023-12-04

sittings or episodes

5

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

1. “Medical records from local hospital facilities show children and adults admitted for burns, skin infections and respiratory problems, as well as longer-term effects, including harm to the reproductive health of both men and women, birth defects, miscarriages, stillbirths and long-term health consequences for children born to exposed parents. As with all of ISIL’s activities, its confidence that its documents and internal structure would never be uncovered forms the basis for the hope of accountability. Through the analysis of detailed records ISIL left behind, we have identified individual ISIL members who are allegedly responsible for leading the development of the programme and the implementation of major attacks.”

   2021-12-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8914 (2021) · source

2. “Our evidence shows that ISIL clearly identified, and then seized, chemical-weapon production factories and other sources of precursor material, while also taking over the University of Mosul campus as a hub for research and development. Small teams of qualified technical and scientific experts, some brought in from abroad, worked to adapt and enhance the programme. Through an analysis of internal ISIL manuals on chemical-weapon production, we see the programme diversify and become more sophisticated as new expertise arrives. The results can be seen in the more than 3,000 victims of chemical-weapon attacks carried out by ISIL that our team has identified to date. Investigations in relation to attacks in Taza Khurmatu show the successful use of multiple rocket artillery projectiles containing a sulphur mustard agent.”

   2021-12-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8914 (2021) · source

3. “Evidence collected on the Badush Central Prison attacks serves to underline the detailed planning undertaken by ISIL in carrying out their atrocities. That methodological and strategic approach is seen even more clearly in two other key lines of investigation that have accelerated in the past six months: on the development and use of chemical and biological weapons by ISIL and on the financial mechanisms through which it sustained its campaign of violence. Forensic analysis of battlefield evidence made available to us by Iraqi authorities has shown that ISIL’s development and deployment of chemical weapons was not an opportunist exploitation of fortunate circumstances; it was a strategic priority implemented in line with a long-term vision.”

   2021-12-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8914 (2021) · source

4. “Through the synthesis of that data, I can also announce to the Council today that we have finalized our initial case brief in relation to this investigation, detailing our conclusion that crimes committed by ISIL members at Badush Central Prison constitute crimes against humanity of murder, extermination, torture, enforced disappearances, persecution and other inhumane acts, and the war crimes of wilful killing, torture, inhumane treatment and outrage upon personal dignity. By establishing that comprehensive structural analysis of crimes committed at Badush prison, as we did previously with respect to attacks in Sinjar and Tikrit, we seek to strengthen the basis on which justice can be built together with national authorities.”

   2021-12-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8914 (2021) · source

5. “Evidence collected shows the detailed preparation for the attack by senior ISIL members, followed by the launch of the assault on the morning of 9 June. Prisoners captured were led to sites close to the prison, separated based on their religion and humiliated. At least 1,000, predominantly Shia, prisoners were then systematically killed. Through our analysis of digital, documentary, testimonial and forensic evidence, including internal ISIL documents, we have identified a number of individual ISIL members responsible for carrying out those crimes.”

   2021-12-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8914 (2021) · source

6. “I listened to the story told by one survivor who had to go through that horror, and now has to carry its magnitude as he seeks to move on with his life. I also saw the commitment demonstrated by the national authorities and our team members, as well as other partners, working in that remote location, despite the security challenges, to support the collection of evidence that may lay the foundations for justice and to ensure that families will be able to bury the remains of their loved ones. Together, we recommenced work to exhume the bodies of those killed and collect forensic evidence for use in identifying those ISIL members responsible. By working with survivors and empowering them to provide their testimonies, we have established an account of those attacks that bears the hallmarks of ISIL’s violence against many communities of Iraq.”

   2021-12-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8914 (2021) · source

7. “Through the establishment of structural case briefs addressing crimes committed against all impacted communities in Iraq, through the development of detailed case files tying the actions of specific ISIL members to those crimes and by harnessing advanced technology to serve this purpose, we can now envision a new landscape in which those who believed themselves to be out of reach of justice are held accountable in a court of law. If we maintain our collective commitment, if we strengthen our unity in addressing the inherent challenges that the scale of ISIL criminality presents, I believe we have the opportunity to turn the tide from impunity to justice. A week ago, I stood at a mass grave outside Mosul containing the remains of the victims of executions carried out by ISIL at Badush Central Prison in June 2014.”

   2021-12-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8914 (2021) · source

8. “I have seen first-hand the work being conducted across Iraq, in collaboration with our national partners, to secure vital evidence capable of building a comprehensive legal basis for international-standard trials fully reflecting the nature of the crimes committed against Iraqi communities by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Knowing from experience the challenges national authorities face in pursuing justice for those crimes, I believe we now stand at a turning point, a moment of perhaps unexpected hope.”

   2021-12-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8914 (2021) · source

9. “Mr. Ritscher: I am very honoured to be able to address the Security Council this morning for the first time as Head of the United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da’esh/Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (UNITAD) and to present to members the seventh report on its activities. In the two months since my appointment, I have had the opportunity to engage with survivors, national authorities, non-governmental organizations and international partners, as well as with all parts of our team in Baghdad, Dohuk and Erbil.”

   2021-12-02 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8914 (2021) · source