Partnership with Iraqi Authorities

UNITAD was established at the request of the Government of Iraq for the international community to assist in ensuring that members of ISIL/Da’esh are held accountable for the serious crimes that had been committed by ISIL in Iraq.

UNITAD has been based in Iraq, operating in close cooperation with a range of national counterparts. This unique form of in-country cooperation between the host State and an investigative mechanism of its kind sets UNITAD apart.

Main areas of cooperation with the Iraqi authorities include:

• Cooperation with the National Coordinating Committee as a key interlocutor that facilitates the work of the Team,
• Cooperation with the Iraqi judiciary through digitization of ISIL records, capacity building for judges through a range of training courses, and leveraging forensic capacities of the courts,
• Technical support to an Iraq-led process towards drafting a domestic legislation that enables the prosecution of ISIL/Da’esh perpetrators for international crimes,
• Financial, technical and expert on-site support in mass grave excavations and identification of victims’ remains.