Threats to international peace and security - Security Council, 9645th meeting

Letter dated 24 May 2024 from the 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 addressed to the President of the Security Council

• Categories: Meetings & Events / Security Council
• Video Length: 01:41:04
• Production Date: 5 June 2024
• Asset Language: Arabic; English; French; Russian; Spanish; Chinese; Original
• Personal Subject: ABBAS KADHOM OBAID AL-FATLAWI; ABBAS KADHOM OBAID AL-FATLAW
• Corporate Name: UNITED NATIONS INVESTIGATIVE TEAM TO PROMOTE ACCOUNTABILITY FOR CRIMES COMMITTED BY DAESH ISIL - UNITAD
• Subject Topical: GENOCIDE; TERRORISM; INVESTIGATION; WAR CRIMES; PERIODIC REPORTS; CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY; SPECIAL MISSIONS; ETHNIC CONFLICT; RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE; ARCHIVES; FACT-FINDING MISSIONS; REPORTING PROCEDURES
• Geographic Subject: IRAQ
• MAMS Id: 3215313
• Parent Id: 3213897

Description

The United Nations team investigating atrocity crimes committed in Iraq by Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh) has laid the groundwork for future judicial proceedings, speakers told the Security Council today as they discussed ways to continue accountability efforts beyond the evidence-collecting body’s mandate expiry in September 2024. Terabytes of evidence “will remain […] and Member States, including Iraq, could consider them in the future to hold ISIL perpetrators accountable for the international crimes they committed in Iraq,” said Ana Peyró Llopis, Acting 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 (UNITAD). Presenting the Team’s twelfth report to Council members, she reported that over the past six years, UNITAD, in cooperation with Iraqi authorities, has excavated 67 mass graves; digitized 18 million pages of ISIL-related paper records and extracted data from a significant number of seized ISIL digital devices. To date, 20 third-States have requested assistance, she added. Citing efforts to seek justice outside Iraq, she highlighted that the Central Criminal Court in Lisbon, Portugal, convicted an Iraqi Da’esh member in January for war crimes committed in Mosul, largely based on evidence provided by the Team in close cooperation with the Iraqi judiciary. “This is just one of the many examples where Iraqi judicial counterparts have supported the Team in responding to requests from third-State jurisdictions,” she said, stressing: “It speaks to the crucial role Iraq will play in ensuring the global accountability of Da’esh after the conclusion of the mandate”. When the floor opened for interventions, delegates commended UNITAD’s work since its establishment in 2017, highlighting its close cooperation with the relevant stakeholders, including Iraq’s judiciary, victims and witnesses. They also explored ways to continue seeking justice after the Team dissolves. The closure of UNITAD does not mean “the end of the fight for accountability against Da’esh,” said the representative of the United Kingdom, spotlighting its achievements over the past six years, including the vast collection and digitization of evidence of Da’esh atrocities; support to judicial proceedings in 20 jurisdictions, leading to 15 convictions; and the excavation of mass graves.

Related Sites and Documents

Twelfth report of the Acting Special Adviser and Head of UNITAD

Press Coverage of SC/15718 Meeting 9645