Special Adviser Karim Khan QC Speech at UNSC, 4 December 2018

AS DELIVERED

Mr. President and Distinguished Delegates,

It is indeed a singular honour and a privilege to present the first report of the United Nations investigative team to promote accountability for crimes allegedly committed by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), also known as Da’esh (see S/2018/1031). We intend to outline today our initial strategic vision, the progress made to date in its realization and our key priorities as we now continue our preparatory work in Iraq ahead of the commencement of more meaningful and substantive investigative work early next year.

I would like, however, to begin with the obvious, but something that requires us all, in my respectful submission, to have pause for thought. It is to applaud the indefatigable courage and perseverance and recognize the tremendous suffering of the survivors of Da’esh crimes. Their fortitude in standing firm and continuing is an aspect that must be recognized and be at the forefront of our minds. In that endeavour, of course, the unity and united perseverance of the people of Iraq in defeating ISIL territorially are an aspect that must be mentioned.

As ISIL has been driven from its strongholds, the scope and magnitude of its heinous acts have become tragically ever more clear. Witness testimony after witness testimony has revealed unimaginable abuses and acts of depravity. Thousands of our fellow human beings — men and thousands upon thousands of women and children — have become victims at the hands of ISIL and witnesses to its deeds. By dint of resolution 2379 (2017), the Security Council responded unanimously with one clear voice to the call of assistance, which had been raised by the Government of the Republic of Iraq in support of its efforts to hold ISIL accountable.

Noting that the terrorist acts of ISIL constituted a threat to international peace and security, the Council requested the establishment of the Investigative Team in order to support domestic efforts to establish accountability, requiring us to collect, gather, analyse and store evidence in Iraq of crimes that may constitute genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes. In addition, the Council underlined that, as Special Adviser and Head of the Investigative Team, I would be required to promote throughout the world accountability for the crimes of Da’esh and work with survivors in a manner consistent with now well-established human rights norms and best United Nations practices. That was for one imperative and one purpose —to ensure that those crimes are recognized within the disciplined environment of the law. That aspect is discussed in further detail in our report (see S/2018/1031), dated 16 November.

Turning to the next topic of this briefing, I take this opportunity to express gratitude to the Council and the Government of Iraq for the significant trust that they have reposed in the Investigative Team in that important mandate and to reiterate what should be obvious, which is our absolute commitment to showing fidelity to the mandate and resolution 2379 (2017) in a bid to ensure that those have committed those acts are investigated and pursued in accordance with best United Nations practices and international law so that we can deliver on our mandate.

Since the formal commencement of its activities on 20 August, the Investigative Team has undertaken key preparatory work, pursuant to the mandate provided by the Council, in order to provide what we hope will prove to be a solid platform for the commencement of investigative activities early next year. As a result of those efforts and based on the support of key partners within the United Nations system, including — it must be recognized — the Executive Office of the SecretaryGeneral, the Department of Political Affairs and the Department of Field Support, as well as the unstinting support of the Office of Legal Affairs, the Investigative Team successfully deployed to Iraq on 29 October.

In conducting the preparatory activities outlined in our first report, we have been guided at all times by two key imperatives. First, the Team must operate as an independent, impartial and credible accountability mechanism capable of conducting all its work to the highest possible standards. Secondly, there is a need to ensure that our work is carried out collaboratively and cooperatively with the Government of Iraq, with full respect at all times for national sovereignty and in a manner that effectively harnesses the talents and engenders the support of all elements of Iraqi society.

As reflected in resolution 2379 (2017) and the terms of reference for the activities of the Investigative Team (S/2018/118, annex), approved by the Council in February, those imperatives are not paradoxical, nor do they represent opposing weights of a scale to be delicately balanced. On the contrary, the establishment of the Team as an independent, impartial entity, and successful and meaningful engagement with the Government of Iraq and the broader populace of Iraq in its work represent, in our view, mutually reinforcing principles that, if harnessed effectively, will allow the Team to overcome the many challenges, it will face and deliver effectively on the mandate set down by the Council.

With a view to ensuring that the Investigative Team can conduct its work in an independent and impartial manner, in line with the international standards to which I alluded a moment ago, we have sought, during the first three months of our activities, to prioritize the development of core logistical, substantive and administrative frameworks, which have been reflected in the proposed budget of the Investigative Team currently under the consideration of the General Assembly.

With respect to the first aspect — our logistical arrangements — we have identified former United

Nations facilities for refurbishment that will serve as our headquarters and permanent premises in Baghdad, and plans have also been developed regarding the physical and technological infrastructure that will be needed to support the material and evidence that we will receive and gather, as well. That will, we hope, ensure the effective storage of documentary, forensic and digital information, which would be the foundation of any proper investigation in accordance with international standards.

Secondly, with regard to the substantive framework, progress has also been made. Work has commenced on the development of various standing operating procedures of key activities, including the collection, preservation and storing of evidence and material, as well as information management and chains of custody. Those issues will be critical to witness protection. Initial mapping activities have already been undertaken, assisting us in identifying where key sources of existing evidentiary material may be located.

We have also spent a significant amount of time in ensuring that the admonition and injunction of the Council to avoid duplication are fully observed, and that has taken the form of reaching out to other parts of the United Nations, whether in the counter-terrorism sphere or other areas, such as the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, to ensure that we harness the capacities, the experience and the centres of excellence that are already present. All of that is to ensure that the Team operates as effectively and efficiently as possible and discharges its mandate.

Thirdly, with regard to the composition of the Investigative Team, requirements have been identified with respect to both international staff and national personnel, and the initial recruitment is progressing. In that regard, I wish to emphasize to the Council that I am firmly of the view that the successful integration of Iraqi national professional personnel into the Team will be essential. It will enrich our capacities, allow us to operate more effectively in Iraq and, we hope, more fully and completely fulfil the responsibilities entrusted to it by the Council.

At all times, Organizationur objective will be to foster a mutually supportive relationship between international and national staff and mould it into one coherent, cohesive and unified entity, united by a common principle to investigate, in accordance with the best United Nations standards and international practices, acts that may have been committed by ISIL. In doing so, it is our fervent hope that we will also strengthen the capacity of the Team, assist in generating capacities in Iraq and deliver the mandate in an independent manner, which will, hopefully, support the long-term, sustainable efforts that Iraq is focusing on to achieve accountability.

Throughout the formative period of our work over the past three months, I have consistently underlined the fundamental imperative and the absolute commitment of the Investigative Team to ensuring that its actions are aligned with the principles of the Charter of the United Nations that remain the foundation of this organ, and also that we abide by United Nations policies and best practices, including with respect to the transmission of evidentiary material for use in domestic proceedings. As I have emphasized, our adherence to those principles is not only required by dint of the resolution itself, or indeed by the terms of reference that have been approved by the Council, but is also essential to ensuring the continued support of the international community and the credibility of this work.

It is a remarkable achievement, and both a sign of the unity of the Council on this issue and revealing of the criminality of the many acts carried out by Da’esh, that the Council was unanimous and the international community is in consensus that the rule of law and judicial accountability have an important and critical part to play in properly confronting the phenomena that we have unfortunately witnessed.

In pursuit of the second imperative of fostering collective support for our work in Iraq, the Investigative Team has prioritized the development of cooperative relationships with the Government of Iraq itself, as well as with the multitude of religious and ethnic groups and regional entities in Iraq. We have reached out to non-governmental bodies and other key national stakeholders and, as emphasized in our written report, we consider that that work will be crucial to the successful fulfilment of our mandate.

Reflecting this during my initial mission to Iraq in August, I met with senior Government officials, many survivors, civil society groups and members of Christian, Shia, Sunni, Turkmen Shia, Kakai and Yazidi communities. In those discussions, I emphasized to all, whoever my audience was at any given time, that there is no hierarchy of victims. The Investigative Team, in seeking to fulfil the mandate of the Council, will ensure that we focus on crimes committed against any human being — irrespective of ethnic group or religious denomination — who has suffered from those crimes within our jurisdiction at the hands of Da’esh.

Since our arrival in Iraq in October, the Investigative Team has continued to engage with the Government of Iraq with a view to establishing clear operational frameworks with our national counterparts. In that regard, productive discussions have already been held with the Steering Committee that has been designated under the terms of reference. We are also working on and clarifying the procedures that will form the bedrock of our activities. We have liaised productively and continuously with the relevant national security sectors in Iraq to ensure that the Team can undertake activities in a secure and safe manner.

Last week, I had the singular honour and opportunity to have a meeting with the Prime Minister of Iraq, during which I underlined the commitment of the Investigative Team to working in support of the domestic authorities of Iraq to ensure that members of ISIL are held accountable for their crimes. I was grateful to the Prime Minister that in that meeting, and afterwards in his public statements, he expressed in very solid terms, if I may say so, his continued support for the resolution, the Investigative Team and our focus on genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, which is to be applauded.

Our presence in Iraq has provided the Investigative Team with the opportunity to continue to engage with various survivor groups, tribal leaders and other non-governmental bodies. In that regard, I recently held in-depth discussions with tribal leaders from the Sinjar region and have put in place plans to visit that region later this month, in addition to other key sites of ISIL crimes. Since its arrival in Iraq, the Team has also continued to build relationships with a broad range of Member States, many of which were initiated here in New York. We look forward to further strengthening those ties in support of our mandated activities over the coming months.

The Investigative Team now looks forward to continuing preparations in Iraq with a view to commencing investigative activities in early 2019. Based on our preparatory activities to date, and reflecting the consultations held with the Government of Iraq and other key national stakeholders, I wish to highlight to the Council the following key priorities for action, which are outlined, of course, in much greater detail in the report.

The first priority is the completion of key infrastructural elements, including the premises of the Investigative Team and the physical and technological equipment that I have referred to, which is necessary for the storage and preservation of evidence.

Secondly, we must finalize the core substantive work, including our standard operating practices and the recruitment process, which we hope to be able to kick off once the budget is approved by the General Assembly.

Thirdly, we must collect, gather and analyse the evidence within Iraq, and by that I mean that the central Government, the regional authorities, third States, non-governmental organizations, international actors and neighbouring States must bring all of that information together so that it can be subjected to analysis, so that patterns can be discerned and so that it can lead to the fourth stage, which relates to the activities of the Investigative Team to fill the gaps that have been identified. I look forward to presenting my next report in May 2019, which will provide a fuller update on those activities.

However, I wish to be candid with the Council in one additional respect. The delivery of this mandate and the successful completion of these activities require not just the historic, united and unanimous support of the Council, but collegiality and solidarity going forward. Without the political will and political support of Member States that have been fortunately evidenced to date, the significant challenges that are obvious on the face of the mandate will not be overcome. By the same token, with that solidarity the challenges and the scale of the evidence will not be insurmountable by the application of our collective will and the resources available in the international community and within the Team.

On a related topic, I take this opportunity to mention that the proposed budget of the Investigative Team has been submitted to the General Assembly for consideration. It is my sincere belief that we have presented a very streamlined organizational structure with a limited objective to meet our mandate. There is no fat in that budget. We have specifically designed a substantive capacity that will allow us to conduct our work in accordance with international standards and thereby ensure the broadest possible use of evidence within Iraq and, domestically, within States elsewhere. That plan, strategy and organizational structure are complemented by a very lightweight mission support mechanism that draws on existing United Nations in-country assets to ensure the maximum focus of resources where it is needed, which is in the substantive work of investigating the crimes themselves. It is my hope that the commitment to efficiency demonstrated in our proposed budget will be reflected on positively by Member States in the coming weeks as it is finalized and approved.

In addition, I would emphasize paragraph 14 of resolution 2379 (2017), which created a trust fund. I request that States also consider making supplementary contributions to the trust fund for key activities. Those activities are not just for the security and the staff costs of the team, but include exhumations, DNA analysis and witness support activities. I take this opportunity to state and underscore my appreciation for the very generous and absolutely vital contributions made thus far by the United Kingdom, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Government of Qatar. I also know that various other States are working towards pledging further support.

In conclusion, I wish to underline to the Council that the preparatory work completed by the Team has reinforced my view that our dual initial imperatives — ensuring independence and seeking cooperation, and demonstrating impartiality and pursuing national engagement — do not present a dichotomy. There is no contradiction in upholding independence while supporting national accountability. Indeed, the opposite is true. It is only by establishing the Investigative Team as an independent, objective and trusted source of evidentiary material capable of conducting its work to the highest possible standards that we can best support the Government of Iraq and other Member States in our common and necessary pursuit of accountability and justice. Simultaneous, the completion of our investigative activities will be dependent on securing the cooperation, support and trust of all elements of Iraqi society.

It is by harnessing those dual elements, both international and national, that we will be able to successfully fulfil the mandate the Council has provided and deliver justice for the victims of ISIL. As we look forward to the commencement of our investigative activities in Iraq, it is ultimately them and the cause of justice that we seek to serve.