Remarks by Special Adviser Christian Ritscher-at the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research Seminar "UNITAD’s Role in Promoting Accountability for ISIL International Crimes"

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UNITAD’s Role in Promoting Accountability for ISIL International Crimes

Ministry of Higher Education

Baghdad, 4 May 2023

Remarks by

Mr. Christian Ritscher

Special Adviser and Head of the United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da’esh / Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant

 

 

Your Excellency, Dr. Na’eem Al Aboudi, Minister of Higher Education of Iraq,

Distinguished Professors and Scholars,

Esteemed Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

It is a pleasure to be present with you here today, at the kind invitation of the Ministry of Higher Education, for which I am very grateful. 

I am truly honoured to talk to you today about the work of UNITAD; the United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da’esh/ISIL.

During my remarks now, I would like to cover 3 main areas; first to give you an overview of the Team and its investigations, then to explain how we carry out our work through close cooperation with Iraq, then to reflect with you on what defines success for our mission and its mandate. After that, I look forward to hearing from you, your questions, reflections and valuable comments.

An Overview of UNITAD and its Investigations

UNITAD was established, at the request of Iraq, through Security Council resolution 2379 (2017), which was unanimously adopted, with the main goal of supporting domestic efforts in Iraq to hold ISIL perpetrators accountable for international crimes, international crimes meaning acts that might amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

Since its deployment in Iraq in 2018, UNITAD has founded its headquarters here in Baghdad, and then opened additional sub-offices in Erbil and Duhok, with the objective of investigating ISIL crimes against all affected communities. UNITAD did that in what we call a bottom-up investigative approach, focusing on the victims of ISIL crimes and the accounts of witnesses. The Team has six Field Investigative Units, covering crimes against the Yezidi community, against the Christian community, also crimes against the Shiites including crimes that targeted the Tikrit Air Academy personnel and at the Badoush prison near Mosul, crimes against the Sunni community in Anbar, and crimes against so called smaller minorities of the Shabak, Kaakis, Shia-Turkmen and others.

In addition, and with the objective of investigating also the hierarchy and the structure of ISIL as an organization, or the top-down investigative approach, UNITAD established a dedicated investigative unit focused on ISIL’s finances and economy. The Economic Crimes Unit looks into the financing of and the profiteering from ISIL’s international crimes committed in Iraq. This is particularly important because we all know that tracing the money means tracing the organization; tracing the structure; the hierarchy, the leaders; those who gave orders. This puts us on the path of identifying those most responsible for the range of heinous international crimes that were committed in Iraq. It helps us complete the puzzle of establishing the individual responsibility of ISIL leaders for those international crimes.

It is important to always stress that our mandate deals with international crimes and not with terrorism. As you may well know, this distinction is key in terms of legal implications, as well as victims’ participation and rights. Membership in an organization, even a terrorist one, is of a random nature and does not see a victim. On the contrary, investigating international crimes means investigating the real attacks, the cruel treatment of the victims, and it means looking into the intent of the perpetrators and the impact on the affected communities. That is the kind of justice which the victims seek.

In addition, we, the Team, also established a dedicated Gender and Children Crimes Unit, which is an over-arching thematic unit that works with the rest of the Team’s investigative units to bring the gender aspect of ISIL international crimes, which included crimes that specifically targeted women and girls, and also younger boys who were for instance forcefully enlisted as child soldiers.

Moreover, since I took over my responsibilities as Head of the Investigative Team, I made it a priority to intensify investigations into some more lines of inquiry which I consider key lines to draw the full picture of ISIL criminality in Iraq:

  • Crimes committed in Mosul, including against state structures and personnel;
  • ISIL’s development and deployment of Chemical and Biological Weapons;
  • ISIL’s destruction of cultural heritage, which targeted the entirety of Iraq’s diverse cultural history.

One important aspect of our work is to ensure a victim-centered approach, which puts the safety and well-being of the victims and survivors first and foremost. We have a dedicated Witness Protection and Support Unit, which plays a leading role in protecting the witnesses who give their accounts. The Unit also plays a key role in strengthening the capacities of national counterparts within the Iraqi Government, as well as with civil society organizations, to leverage this approach, avoid the re-traumatization of survivors, and train service providers in the area of psychosocial support.

So to summon up, as Team with a very specific mandate, we work to investigate ISIL crimes against all communities in Iraq, in partnership with those communities, and through a victim-centered approach. Moreover, the work of the Team will be increasingly focused on transitioning from investigation to case-building, ensuring that individual ISIL perpetrators are held accountable for the crimes which they committed.

I would like to wrap up the overview here, and then move to talk a bit about our partnership with Iraq.

Unique mandate in partnership with Iraq

UNITAD as an investigative entity, is one with a unique mandate.  Implementing the legal principle of individual criminal responsibility for international crimes and established at the request of the Iraqi Government, our Team works closely on a day-to-day basis with our Iraqi counterparts, especially within the Judiciary, to support the common goal of holding ISIL members accountable for international crimes, in fair and evidence-based trials, and in line with international standards. This unique partnership makes us a lucky investigative mechanism and provides a lot of opportunities for Iraq as well.

As I mentioned on many occasions since I have started my work here, Iraq should be applauded for its global leadership in requesting the establishment of UNITAD and for its cooperation with the Team to date. This role is crucial in promoting global accountability for ISIL international crimes, and more importantly for serving justice to the victims and survivors, most of whom are from this country. In my view, UNITAD is an opportunity for Iraq to demonstrate a leading role in this regard and to show the world its commitment to the rule of law. 

Iraq remains UNITAD’s main ally and partner, and Iraq is the primary intended recipient of our work per the Team’s mandate. Our objective as UNITAD is to support Iraq in delivering justice for the crimes committed by ISIL.  What we want to see is Iraq playing its natural leading role in pursuing accountability for ISIL international crimes, according to international standards and in line with UN policies and best practices.

As the Iraqi judiciary is UNITAD’s natural partner, the Team continues to work with competent investigative judges, based on a mutual desire for cooperation and an alignment of investigative priorities, towards the common purpose of prosecuting ISIL members for their international crimes, including in cases involving ISIL perpetrators located or residing abroad, especially in Europe.

In addition, a focus of UNITAD’s activities remains to strengthen the capacities of the Iraqi judiciary and to deepen knowledge of international humanitarian and criminal law within the Iraqi judiciary. We want the judges and courts to be well prepared to prosecute ISIL members for charges of international crimes. In November 2022, the Team, in partnership with the International Nuremberg Principles Academy, organized an advanced one-week training course on international humanitarian law (IHL) and international criminal law (ICL) for 19 members of the Iraqi Judiciary in Nuremberg, Germany. The “Training Course on International Humanitarian Law and International Criminal Law” aimed to enhance the practical investigative and prosecutorial skills of the participants, who were Judges coming from all over Iraq. The training was tailored to meet the needs of those judges who work on ISIL international crimes in Iraq. Its aim was to introduce the necessary in-depth knowledge towards prosecuting such crimes in Iraq in the future. The trainers for this course were a wide range of renowned international academics, legal experts and practitioners bringing a wealth of experience and knowledge to the course. This advanced training enabled the judges to study and analyse relevant cases from international courts as well as national cases from countries that have adopted the universal jurisdiction in prosecuting international crimes. Such knowledge is key for Iraqi judges to initiate and conduct proceedings before Iraqi courts, with the highest level of professionalism, and in conformity with international standards and due process.

One more area which our Team also supports is the area of mass grave excavations. UNITAD experts work closely with local partners in the Mass Graves Directorate and the Medico-Legal Directorate, to support the excavations of mass graves relating to ISIL crimes, and the identification of the recovered remains, which allows also for dignified burial of the identified victims. This work certainly feeds into the forensic evidence necessary for investigating ISIL crimes, and - as importantly -  it is crucial work to offer a glimpse of solace to the families of the victims, who await impatiently to pay their loved ones the respect they deserve.

So, to wrap up this part, let me summarize by saying, UNITAD works in Iraq, at the request of the Iraqi government and in partnership with Iraqi counterparts. We work to build national capacities in areas connected to our mandate, and towards achieving justice for the victims and supporting healing for Iraqi communities.

What constitutes “success” for the work of UNITAD?

As I repeated in so many occasions over the past 18 months, I am a prosecutor, not a historian. The way I see the purpose of UNITAD’s work here is simply not to establish a record for ISIL crimes, but to hold members of ISIL, those who committed such heinous international crimes, accountable through evidence-based trials before competent courts.

But what do we need to achieve that?

I think we need 3 main streamlines; competent courts, admissible and reliable evidence, and an appropriate legal framework.

First; competent courts, which I consider the easier one, and as I described earlier, we work closely with competent investigative judges in Iraq, who support our investigations, and whom we support building their capacities, to ensure that Iraqi courts are ready to hold ISIL perpetrators accountable for international crimes.

Second; admissible and reliable evidence. There is a lot of discussions about “evidence” on ISIL crimes. I can assure you that there is no shortage of evidence on ISIL crimes in Iraq, as ISIL was a large-scale bureaucracy maintaining its own state-like administrative system and documentation. The main challenge is what to do with this evidence? How to deal with the huge volume of documents and sheer amount of information? And most importantly, how to maintain the integral chain of custody for such evidence?

What we aim to ensure is that such evidence is admissible before any competent court, whether in Iraq or in other states where prosecutions of ISIL members for international crimes can take place. Also, we have supported the digitization of millions of documents in different courts in Iraq, to ensure that they are well preserved and utilized.

And then Third -most important and most challenging- is an appropriate legal framework. This can be considered the main challenge that needs to be overcome to see UNITAD’s work yield the desired results in Iraq. UNITAD remains committed to supporting the Iraq-led process for the implementation of a domestic legal framework enabling the prosecution of ISIL criminal acts as international crimes -war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide- before national courts. The establishment of a joint working group in March 2023, together with the Office of the Prime Minister, the National Permanent Committee for International Humanitarian Law, the Iraqi State Council and senior members of the judiciary, is an important milestone in this regard. UNITAD looks forward to regular meetings of this group and remains at the disposal of the Iraqi authorities to technically support this process through any means it may provide, including leveraging international expertise and sharing best practices.

In parallel, and as part of UNITAD’s mandate, the Team continues to exert all effort to ensure criminal accountability for ISIL members wherever they can be held accountable, and to disrupt the perpetrators’ attempts to find jurisdictional escape routes. With a vision to close off safe havens, UNITAD supports prosecutions, in accordance with the Team’s Terms of Reference, with judicial authorities in Third States that has jurisdiction to investigate international crimes committed by ISIL members. This jurisdictional support in relevant cases, such as in Member States with universal or other forms of extra-territorial jurisdiction for international crimes, or where former ISIL fighters as well as victims and survivors reside, is an important part of UNITAD’s work. And I must say that the demand for this work is increasing, and is expected to continue to increase, as ISIL has been an international phenomenon, including with foreign fighters who joined the ranks of the organization, or Iraqi nationals who moved abroad. Ultimately, this work in supporting prosecutions in Third States will be an important tool for ensuring that the fight against impunity for Da’esh/ISIL extends as thoroughly as possible around the world. Such work gave us the landmark conviction in Frankfurt of Taha J., the Iraqi national who was convicted for committing genocide against Yazidis in Iraq and was sentenced to life in prison.

Let me conclude by sharing a reflection based not only on my current role at UNITAD, but also on my previous work as a Federal Public Prosecutor at the Federal Court of Justice in Germany and when I was the Head of the German War Crimes Unit S4. Justice in general is a slow and lengthy process, and often times, one can get impatient wanting to see results. But investigations, prosecutions and building evidence-based cases is work that takes time, patience and perseverance, in particular in international crimes cases.

But, at the same time, it is important to remember that there is no statute of limitations on international crimes. We have seen perpetrators for such crimes stand trials even after tens of years passed on their committing their crimes. This is also the case in Germany, where members of the Nazi regime are still held accountable till this very day, and some of them are almost 100 years old. It is the case in many parts of the world too.

The crimes committed by ISIL are no exception to this. In fact, ISIL crimes in Iraq 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. 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. What I can promise is that UNITAD will continue its work along this path to accountability. UNITAD’s commitment to this work is a commitment we owe to the survivors, to international justice, and to humanity at large.

 

I thank you, and I look forward to our discussion.