UNSC Approves Investigation into ISIL Atrocities in Iraq
On Thursday, the United Nations Security Council approved the creation of a UN team to investigate and preserve evidence in Iraq of atrocities committed by ISIL which violate international law.
This decision comes after international human rights barrister, Amal Clooney, appeared at the UN earlier in the year to call for an investigation into the war crimes committed by ISIL; chiefly the genocide against Iraq’s Yazidi people. Clooney was joined by her client and Nobel Peace Prize nominee, Nadia Murad, who has been vocal about her experiences as an ISIL captive in 2014.
Clooney, who was present during the United Nations Security Council’s decision on Thursday, revealed, “it’s been a long time coming; in the meantime, evidence has been lost and we’ve lost some opportunities along the way, but the fact that we have this resolution now means that justice is finally possible.”
The BBC reported that the new investigation will have a main focus on the war crimes committed against the Yazidi people.
Around $1.3m will be provided by Britain to help establish the investigation team, British Minister of State for the Middle East, Alistair Burt, said.
Addressing the council, Burt stated that “there can never be adequate recompense for those who were forced to endure the wanton brutality of (Islamic State) and the dead will not be brought back, but this resolution means that the international community is united in our belief that there should, at least, be accountability.”
Last month Ibrahim al-Jaafari, Iraq’s foreign minister, sent a letter to the UNSC as an official request for international assistance, although the UNSC would have been able to commence an enquiry without Iraq’s permission.
