Special Adviser Christian Ritscher remarks at Al-Alamain Institute for Graduate Studies' lecture on How UNITAD’s Work Supports Iraq
Promoting Accountability for ISIL International Crimes:
How UNITAD’s Work Supports Iraq
Al-Alamain Institute for Graduate Studies
Najaf, 27 October 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. Bahr al-Uloom, General Supervisor of Al-Alamain Institute for Graduate Studies,
Esteemed Professor Dr. Zayd Adnan Muhsin, Dean of the Institute,
Distinguished Professors and Scholars,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am honored to be present with you here today, as I visit the holy city of Najaf and Al-Alamain Institute for the second time. I am very grateful for this kind invitation and for the opportunity to talk to you about the work of UNITAD; the United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da’esh/ISIL.
I am also very pleased to do that on the occasion of concluding a program of action to foster mutual cooperation between UNITAD and Al-Alamain Institute for Graduate Studies. This exemplary and practical work is a manifestation of our role as a Team of the United Nations designed to support national capacities, in line with its mandate to promote accountability for ISIL international crimes. I look forward to seeing this enhanced cooperation happen through the implementation of this Program over the coming months. I also look forward to benefiting from your expertise that will certainly feed into guiding our strategies and work at UNITAD.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
For the purpose of this lecture, I am aiming to briefly cover 3 main areas:
First, to give you an overview of the Team and its investigations up to date, and where we stand now,
Second, to explain a bit on how we carry out our work through close cooperation with Iraq,
And finally, to reflect on the future, and on the important question of “what defines a successful completion of UNITAD’s mission?” And what achieves the core objectives of its work over the past 5 years?
Then, 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, meaning acts that might amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.
Since its deployment in Iraq in 2018, UNITAD founded its headquarters in Baghdad, and then opened additional offices in Erbil and Duhok, to conduct structural investigations into ISIL crimes against all affected communities, in what we call a bottom-up investigative approach, focusing on the victims of ISIL crimes and the accounts of witnesses. For this purpose, the Team includes six Field Investigative Units, covering crimes against the Yezidi community, against the Christian community, also against the Shiites including crimes that targeted the Tikrit Air Academy personnel and attacks against the Badoush prison near Mosul, crimes against the Sunni community in Anbar, crimes against “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, and thus 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 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 unit investigating ISIL crimes against women and children, which works with the rest of the Team’s investigative units to look into 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 three main 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-centred 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-centred approach.
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 has been working 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 that works hand in hand with its host government; Iraq.
As I mentioned on many occasions since I 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.
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 victims of ISIL crimes. What we want to see is Iraq playing its natural leading role in pursuing accountability for ISIL international crimes, according to international standards.
As the Iraqi judiciary is UNITAD’s natural partner, the Team has been working 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, as well as with other national counterparts, which is why we are all gathering here today, at this renowned Institute for graduate studies in Iraq.
As an example of this effort to build national capacities, last year, UNITAD, 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, and 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 analyze relevant cases from international courts as well as national cases from countries that adopt 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 has been working in Iraq, at the request of the Iraqi government and in partnership with Iraqi counterparts to investigate ISIL crimes against all affected communities. 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.
This is why I am most grateful today that we now have signed this agreement between UNITAD and the Al Alamein Institute for Graduate Studies. This provides the great opportunity to exchange legal expertise and ideas in both ways. It creates a win-win situation: UNITAD can share its practical experience in terms of international criminal law and will benefit from the profound national legal expertise of the Institute. I am very much looking forward to this cooperation because I am sure it will be very fruitful.
Looking into the future: what constitutes an ideal state for the completion of UNITAD’s mandate?
As a prosecutor by background, and a head of this Investigative Team, the way I see the purpose of UNITAD’s work here is simply not to establish a record for ISIL crimes, but to hold ISIL perpetrators, 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 easy one, and as I described earlier we have been working 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 has been 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, 10 million thus far, 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 yields the desired results in Iraq. UNITAD remains committed to supporting the sovereign process of the Iraqi legislation 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 here in Iraq. The establishment of a joint working group in March 2023, 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, was an important milestone in this regard. UNITAD remains at the disposal of the Iraqi authorities to technically support this process through any means it may provide, including leveraging international expertise.
In parallel, and as part of UNITAD’s mandate, the Team has been exerting 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 supported 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, has been an important part of UNITAD’s work. ISIL has been an international phenomenon, and there are hundreds-if not thousands- of foreign fighters who joined the ranks of the organization, and can be prosecuted in their countries. There are also Iraqi nationals who fled Iraq and moved abroad.
For this particular purpose, the work of the Team has been increasingly focused on transitioning from investigation to case-building, working together with Iraqi investigative judges to prepare joint case-files to support prosecuting ISIL perpetrators, wherever there is jurisdiction.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is of crucial importance to note here that UNITAD operates with full respect to the sovereignty of Iraq. The consent of the Host Government in any given context is key for any UN mission to conduct its work, and is particularly key for such a unique mission as UNITAD.
We will continue to engage with the Government of Iraq, and all concerned actors, to ensure that we fulfil the requirements of all relevant Security Council resolutions. Most importantly, we will continue to conduct our work, taking into account first and foremost the interests of Iraq, of Iraqi victims who want to see justice served, and also the need to ensure accountability against ISIL perpetrators globally.
To summon up, I would like to give my answer to the question I posed: what constitutes an ideal state for the completion of UNITAD’s mandate?
To describe justice, we always say that “survivors should see their day in court.” An ideal completion of UNITAD’s mandate can only happen when Iraqi courts see trials for ISIL perpetrators for charges of international crimes, drawing on evidence to the highest possible standards, with the participation of victims and in line with international standards.
Meanwhile, we will exert every possible effort to enhance our information-sharing with Iraq, in particular the judiciary, and ensure that the results of our investigations and the volumes of evidence on ISIL crimes is available, usable and can feed into such trials. Needless to say, that altering our investigative strategy to wrap up the mission means that some of our investigative lines cannot be completed:
- ISIL crimes in Mosul,
- ISIL Destruction of Cultural Heritage,
- the question of ISIL genocidal intent against the Shia community,
- the crimes committed against Shia Turkmen women, an area of investigations that was particularly highlighted by Grand Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani when I had the honour to meet with him,
- Also, our work on Al Hol Returnees that was just about to start.
While to me, cutting such key investigations short would not be “the ideal state for the completion of UNITAD’s mandate”, however, over the next weeks and months, we will work closely with the Iraqi government to furnish possibilities and present different scenarios. In this, I am obliged to follow the guidance of what Iraq’s preference is.
Finally, 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. I do hope that this work will be yield its results in Iraq, as we owe it first and foremost to Iraqi victims and survivors of ISIL crimes.
I thank you, and I look forward to our discussion.
