Security Council Briefing by Mr. Christian Ritscher Special Adviser and Head of UNITAD on 8th Report
As Delivered
Briefing by Mr. Christian Ritscher
Special Adviser and Head of the UNITAD
8 June 2022
Mr. President, Distinguished Delegates,
I am honored to address you today as I deliver the eighth report of the United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da’esh/ISIL – or UNITAD.
Over the past six months, the Team continued to make great progress in its investigative work. After more than two years of restrictions and preventive measures UNITAD is back to its full capacity and, with its growing presence in country, stronger than ever. Against the backdrop of the challenges posed by the pandemic, we have continued to deliver accountability outcomes for survivors and their families, strengthened our partnerships in Iraq and throughout the world, and have stepped up our pursuit of accountability and justice for ISIL’s international crimes.
Overall, our evidence collection has surged as working modalities returned to normal, for instance when it comes to the excavation of mass graves and other field-based activities. During the reporting period, we preserved and converted a total of over 4.5 million hard copy pages of documentary evidence from courts across Iraq to digital formats. This was done in close cooperation with the Iraqi judiciary and the Government of Iraq, including the Kurdistan Regional Government. By doing so, we can reduce search times of databases from days to minutes and help the Iraqi authorities to make full and better use of their own data and records. This undertaking is vital to enable efficient and fair legal proceedings, and critical to preserving the historical record of ISIL’s international crimes in Iraq. All our work continues to be conducted in full compliance with international legal standards and applicable policies of the United Nations.
Mr. President, Distinguished Delegates,
Since I last reported to this Council, the Team has successfully advanced the full range of our investigative activities, such as carrying out witness interviews, conducting analysis of evidence, and the drafting of case files. Allow me to highlight a few examples of the progress made within our investigations and the approaches taken towards seeking justice for ISIL’s crimes in Iraq.
Investigations into the Bayt al Mal or ISIL’s so-called ‘House of Money’ have progressed significantly. An initial draft case-brief articulates how Bayt al Mal provided vital material and financial support for the overall structure of ISIL, including managing the payments of units that have allegedly committed core international crimes. Bayt al Mal was crucial to the daily operations of ISIL. We plan to provide additional strategic reports to our counterparts at the Iraqi judiciary that address the internal functioning of Bayt al Mal, to help broaden the understanding of ISIL’s financial activities. This is particularly important as tracing the money means mapping the organization; understanding its structure; and identifying the hierarchy and those in charge of giving orders. It brings us closer to identifying individuals most responsible for the range of heinous international crimes committed in Iraq.
Investigations into the development and use of chemical and biological weapons by ISIL are ongoing and have revealed new information since my last briefing. Through field missions to relevant sites, engagement with affected communities, and cooperation with Iraqi authorities, the Team collected and preserved testimonial, digital, and documentary evidence pertaining to the manufacturing and use of chemical and biological weapons. Our investigations will look more closely at the underlying procurement system for these weapons and related financial flows. This entails focusing on the involvement of specific individuals, including those involved in conducting human tests with chemical agents on detained persons. The aftermath of such chemical attacks – namely severe health problems among survivors and affected communities – continue to this day.
UNITAD’s investigations have helped to produce dedicated case files and the identification of those allegedly most responsible, such as in relation to the crimes committed against the Yazidi community and the crimes committed against the personnel of Tikrit Air Academy, also known as Camp Speicher. Our Tikrit Air Academy investigation contributed to the identification of alleged ISIL perpetrators who have played a prominent role in harassing, abusing, and terrorizing the civilian populations of Tikrit and Al-Alam. It revealed that ISIL systematically targeted all people who did not agree with their ideology. It encompasses those belonging or perceived to belong to groups either opposing, not supporting, or not aligning themselves with ISIL. This includes the Shia community, those affiliated with governmental authorities, members of specific tribes, and those who had assisted the cadets and military personnel of the Tikrit Air Academy.
Together with the Permanent Missions of Iraq and Finland to the United Nations in New York, UNITAD is organizing a Special Event on the massacre of the personnel of Tikrit Air Academy. This public event will take place this Friday, 10 June, at 1.15 pm in the Trusteeship Council. We will be screening a short film about our investigation, followed by an expert-panel discussion and interventions from the floor. The event coincides with the eighth anniversary of the massacre.
The investigations into the mass execution of approximately 600 Badush Prison detainees on 10 June 2014 also continues to strengthen. This is in large part thanks to the excavation of the Badush Valley mass grave conducted by the Iraqi Mass Grave Directorate, with technical and operational support provided by my Team. We engaged directly with the competent Iraqi court in this investigation to identify perpetrators of the massacre, including individuals currently held in custody. This is in line with the Team‘s intention to intensify the investigations pertaining to crimes committed in Mosul, the “capital“ of the so-called caliphate.
UNITAD ensures that investigations of sexual and gender-based crimes committed by ISIL form part of each investigation. As part of this approach, we continue to interview Yazidi women and girls, survivors of sexual enslavement by ISIL and others who were able to provide information on their perpetrators, including on foreign terrorist fighters. Crimes against and affecting children are equally considered as an overarching priority. During the reporting period, the Team conducted interviews with Shi’a Turkmen boys who were conscripted by ISIL.
These are just some examples of the work that has been done and continues to be done in our six investigative and two thematic units, which advance UNITAD’s structural investigations aimed at investigating core international crimes committed against all affected communities in Iraq. This includes the Christian, the Sunni, the Shia, the Kaka’i, the Shabak, and the Turkmen Shia. Our victim and survivor-centric approach means that each and every person affected matters, and that all international crimes committed by ISIL members will be thoroughly investigated, and their record of evidence duly established. Today’s meeting does not allow me to go into all our work in detail. The recently submitted eighth report to the Security Council covers all of the Team’s progress during the reporting period in greater depth.
Mr. President, Distinguished Delegates,
I would like to make use of the opportunity to express my gratitude to the Government of Iraq, the Iraqi judiciary, and the authorities of the Kurdistan Regional Government for supporting the implementation of our mandate. I have made it a priority to establish and maintain a continuous dialogue with senior members of the Iraqi Government, including the Presidency, the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Security Advisory. Together, we are working towards ensuring accountability for core international crimes committed by ISIL, in evidence-based trials and in accordance with due process and international fair trial standards. By doing so, we aim to advance justice in the name of the many victims and survivors of core international crimes committed by ISIL against the people of Iraq.
During a Strategic Discussion Workshop held in January this year with the National Coordinating Committee - chaired by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs- we reflected on our cooperation and jointly defined common areas of priority. This included information sharing, capacity building with national counterparts, and coordinated operations in the areas of mass grave excavations and the return of identified remains of victims to their families. UNITAD’s cooperation with the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs has advanced significantly over the past six months. As agreed during the Strategic Discussion Workshop, and at the request of the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we have been working together in coordination with Iraqi Embassies in different countries to organize a series of special events to promote accountability for ISIL’s international crimes. In April, we held an event in Berlin titled “Investigating Financial Dimensions of War Crimes, Crimes against Humanity and Genocide: The International Legal and Regulatory Framework”. UNITAD, Iraq and Germany renewed their commitment to further investigate the financial dimensions of ISIL’s core international crimes. The upcoming Special Event this week is part of our global cooperation with Iraq.
Consistent with our Terms of Reference, UNITAD is committed to improving the modalities of information sharing with the Government of Iraq and the Iraqi judiciary. Accordingly, the Team expanded and further operationalized arrangements with members of the Iraqi judiciary that allowed for the sharing of information relevant to financial crimes committed in connection with ISIL activities in Iraq. A general overview of key investigative findings of the crimes committed against the Yazidi community and Tikrit Air Academy personnel were presented to members of the National Coordinating Committee in Baghdad.
UNITAD believes that it is essential to seize every opportunity to hold ISIL perpetrators accountable for core international crimes committed in Iraq: war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. There are ongoing discussions within Iraq to adopt the necessary legal framework to deal with ISIL crimes as core international crimes before Iraqi courts. UNITAD stands ready to provide technical advice, and to work with the Iraqi Council of Representatives, as well as the judiciary, going forward. We hope that there will be positive developments within the coming months, and we call on the international community to support Iraq in these efforts.
My team and I feel privileged that we get to experience the beauty of Iraq, its historic sights, and the hospitality of its diverse communities firsthand. For me, community engagement and being part of an ongoing dialogue with civil society are a key objective for UNITAD. Last month UNITAD, in partnership with the Office of the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide and UNDP-Iraq, organised the Second High-Level Conference on the Interfaith Statement on the Victims and Survivors of ISIL in Baghdad. It brought together religious leaders from all Governorates of Iraq and its diverse religious communities, who confirmed that ensuring accountability for ISIL’s international crimes and serving justice to all victims regardless of their faith are important steps towards reconciliation. UNITAD continues to have an important role to play within these processes.
Just last week, we held the Fourth Thematic Roundtable of the UNITAD-NGO Dialogue Forum focused on ISIL’s destruction of cultural heritage in Iraq, which is an area UNITAD will be expanding its investigations over the coming months. ISIL’s vicious destruction of cultural heritage was an attempt to erase Iraq’s diverse cultural history. After my briefing to the Security Council last December, I visited the site of Nimrud, which was blown up by ISIL in 2015. A 3000-year-old site reduced to a pile of rubble. I was devasted by the destruction of this and other cultural heritage sites I have visited recently. At the same time, I continue to be impressed by Iraq’s ongoing efforts to restore these sites.
I can compare the restoration of cultural heritage sites to our work at UNITAD in the pursuit of accountability and justice. It equally takes years and is a painstaking process, but it is work that must be done. At UNITAD, we are committed to continuing our investigation to ensure that ISIL members responsible for atrocious crimes in Iraq are held accountable before competent courts in Iraq and elsewhere.
Mr. President, Distinguished Delegates,
Extra budgetary contributions to the UNITAD’s Trust Fund have proven to be vital to our operations and the continuation of many investigative leads and distinct projects. Therefore, we continue to rely on voluntary contributions from Member States. We welcome the recent contributions by Denmark, France, India, and Slovakia. We are also grateful for recent commitments of additional funds by the Netherlands and the United States of America. So far, 15 States have provided extra-budgetary funds to UNITAD. This is very encouraging. At the same, we call on more States to consider contributing to our work financially to enable us to seize existing and future justice opportunities. We encourage States to make unearmarked contributions to support our general operations and to allow us to keep an agile, flexible, and needs-based management of funds. Without extra budgetary funding, UNITAD’s investigations and broader operations in pursuit of accountability would be curtailed. This also affects assistance provided to jurisdictions of Member States currently investigating and prosecuting the conduct of individuals affiliated with ISIL.
The Team increased its support to ongoing domestic proceedings within several Member States, in consultation with the Government of Iraq. As of today, a total of 15 Member States have requested assistance from UNITAD. Demands continue to increase with more jurisdictions looking into requesting assistance. The most notable contribution in the context of this assistance is perhaps the landmark conviction of the ISIL member Taha Al-J in Frankfurt for the crime of genocide last year. We also supported the Swedish Prosecutorial Authority during the trial of a woman who was charged and finally convicted for the war crime of enlisting her child as a soldier during her time with ISIL. The assistance provided included expert testimony in relation to ISIL practices on enlistment, conscription, and the use of child soldiers.
Furthermore, the Team continues to support the Joint Investigation Team created by the national prosecution authorities of Sweden and France to adjudicate core international crimes committed by ISIL against the Yazidi community in 2015. UNITAD assists with a range of investigative steps, including focused interviews with Yazidi witnesses both in Iraq and abroad, the collection of battlefield evidence related to Yazidi enslavement networks, as well as searches within our evidence holdings and database. By doing so, we aim to minimize victim retraumatization in line with our commitment to a victim and survivor centric approach. The work with the Joint Investigation Team also permits us to better identify and exploit linkages between foreign terrorist fighters across jurisdictions, to facilitate prosecutions in numerous Member States.
Mr. President, Distinguished Delegates,
Three weeks ago, I conducted a joint field visit to Sinjar and Duhok with Ms. Alice Nderitu, the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide. We met with survivors of the genocide and of ISIL’s sexual slavery, some of whom obtained their freedom only a couple of years ago and some of whom still have relatives enslaved by ISIL to this very day, I must emphasize. As I listened to these young people’s thoughts and concerns, I saw pain and grief but also resilience and determination. We were sitting on the floor at a survivors’ house still under construction at the outskirts of Khanke refugee camp, where Yazidi survivors stressed the importance of the genocide conviction in Frankfurt and told us that this is what they want to see done in Iraq. I reiterated UNITAD’s commitment to work towards this goal; a commitment we owe to the survivors, to international justice, and to humanity at large.
The crimes committed by ISIL constitute some of the most gruesome acts we have seen in recent history. Individuals responsible for such acts must be identified and ultimately tried and convicted for their crimes at the national and international level. Only by prosecuting and referring to such barbaric acts as war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide will we be able to deliver justice to the many victims and survivors and ensure that their voices are heard. Only by remaining impartial and servicing all affected communities can we contribute to broader reconciliation processes in Iraq. UNITAD will continue its work along this path to accountability.
I thank you for your support.
