UNITAD Shares Detailed Findings of International Crimes Committed against Christians by ISIL (Da’esh)
16 September 2024, Baghdad - As part of the completion of its activities prior to its closure on 17 September 2024, UNITAD delivered, among others, a report on crimes committed by ISIL (Da’esh) against the Christian community of Iraq to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) on 26 August 2024. The report, which focuses on Christians located in or around Mosul and the Nineveh Plains, concludes that there are reasonable grounds to believe that international crimes were committed against members of this community between 2014 and 2017.
Commenting on these findings, Acting Special Adviser Ana Peyró Llopis noted that “the evidence collected and analyzed by UNITAD reveals horrific suffering endured by Christian victims and survivors at the hands of ISIL (Da’esh) cruelty. This includes criminal acts which UNITAD has reasonable grounds to believe amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, including crimes of sexual violence, outrages upon personal dignity, damage or destruction of cultural property, pillage, spreading terror amongst the civilian population, and forcible transfer, among many other instances of cruel conduct.”
“UNITAD benefitted from extensive co-operation with key partners and stakeholders in the course of these investigations. We are most grateful to our Iraqi counterparts for their instrumental support for the collection of evidence. In addition, I would like to emphasize my heartfelt gratitude, in particular, to Christian civil society organizations and survivors who came forward to share their horrific stories and painful memories. They have made a courageous and invaluable contribution to establishing the truth about ISIL crimes committed during its brutal take over and control of territory in Iraq.”
The report and its underlying evidence have been shared in accordance with United Nations Security Council resolution 2379 (2017) and UNITAD’s Terms of Reference, including the informed consent of information providers.
A summary of the outcome of these investigations is available here.