Zeid urges focus on victims’ rights, given “numbing”
extent of civilian suffering in Iraq
GENEVA (11 November 2016) – As mass graves and further
evidence of sexual exploitation of women and girls, torture and killings, child
recruitment and other grave human rights abuses committed by ISIL in Iraq come
to light, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein has
called for immediate action to ensure that the rights and the needs of victims
and survivors are met – including, crucially, the need for justice, truth and
reconciliation.
“Heartbreaking images of children…children…being forced
to carry out executions, stories of women being ‘redistributed’ among ISIL
fighters, of killings for possession of SIM cards, and killings of those
perceived to be opposed to ISIL’s takfiri doctrines. The forced displacement of
tens of thousands of civilians and their exploitation as human shields, and
then the risk of reprisals against these long-suffering women, men and children
for their perceived support of ISIL – the extent of civilian suffering in Mosul
and other ISIL-occupied areas in Iraq is numbing and intolerable,” High
Commissioner Zeid said.
“Justice for the victims and survivors of human rights
abuses and violations – irrespective of when, where or by whom such abuses and
violations were committed – needs to be impartial, transparent and effective.
The Government of Iraq must act quickly to restore effective law enforcement in
areas retaken from ISIL to ensure that captured fighters and their perceived
supporters are dealt with according to the law. This is crucial to limit the
opportunity for revenge attacks and collective punishments.”
“It is equally important that formal justice is supported
by actions that promote community reconciliation, such as truth-telling and
restorative justice, including the provision of medical and psycho-social
services, housing, education and other financial support which may assist
people in rebuilding their lives and their communities,” Zeid said. “The people
of Iraq – all the people of Iraq – must see that their State, by its actions,
is capable of protecting them by bringing to justice those guilty of the
horrible crimes that have been committed against them.”
Just over the past few days, reports have emerged that:
- ISIL
appears to be continuing to carry out killings based on decisions of its
self-appointed ‘courts’. On Tuesday, ISIL reportedly shot and killed 40
civilians in Mosul city after accusing them of ‘treason and collaboration’ with
the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF). The victims were dressed in orange clothes
marked in red with the words: ‘traitors and agents of the ISF’. Their bodies
were then hung on electrical poles in several areas in Mosul city. The same
evening, a 27-year-old man was allegedly publicly shot to death in the Bab
al-Jideed neighbourhood of central Mosul following a so-called ‘court’
decision. His crime: he used a mobile phone in Mosul. Six other civilians were
hanged on 20 October in Mosul for keeping hidden SIM cards, in violation of
ISIL’s order to surrender all SIM cards. On Wednesday evening, ISIL reportedly
shot to death 20 civilians in the Ghabat Military Base in northern Mosul, on
charges of leaking information. Their bodies were also hung at various
intersections in Mosul, with notes stating: ‘decision of execution’ and ‘used
cell phones to leak information to the ISF’.
- Also on
Wednesday, ISIL deployed what it calls the “sons of the caliphate” in the
alleys of the old town of Mosul, wearing explosive belts. We are concerned that
these may be teenagers and young boys. ISIL also posted a video on Wednesday
showing four children, believed to be between 10 and 14 years old, shooting to
death four people for spying for the ISF and the Peshmerga. The video shows the
victims falling into the river nearby.
- Since 27
October, ISIL has been relocating abducted women, including Yezidi women, into
Mosul city and into Tel Afar town. Some of these women were reportedly
“distributed” to ISIL fighters while others have been told they will be used to
accompany ISIL convoys.
- Last
Monday, 7 November, the ISF reportedly found in Shura sub-district of Mosul an
underground prison containing 961 people, all of them Sunni, and many of them
former ISF officers or members of the Iraqi Islamic Party. People in the prison – which
reportedly had cages measuring 1 metre by 0.5 metres – bore signs of torture
and malnutrition.
- Also last
Monday, ISIL announced through loudspeakers mounted on vehicles in Mosul that
it would execute any members fleeing from the battlefield. ISIL also reportedly
announced that, on 6 November it had beheaded seven of its militants for
deserting the battlefield in the Kokjali area of eastern Mosul.
- More
reports of ISIL forcing villagers to leave their homes include one incident
around 24 October when ISIL ordered some 2,000 families out of al-Shura
sub-district. Air raids prevented ISIL from moving the families more than three
kilometres away, however, and they managed to flee. One villager recounted
having to walk for two days before they found food and shelter with a tribal
Sheikh and they eventually made their way to an IDP camp run by the Iraqi army.
In another incident, last Tuesday, 8 November, ISIL forced residents of Jidedat
al-Mufti, an area southeast of Mosul city, to move to Mosul city itself. Two
civilians were shot dead by ISIL when they refused. On Wednesday morning, ISIL
elements forced 42 families to move from their houses in the al-Faisaliya
neighborhood, eastern Mosul to the western side of the city.
More details are also emerging about the reports of a
mass grave containing at least 100 people in an Agricultural College building
in Hamam al-Alil that was discovered on Monday. Reports suggest that victims
included former ISF officers and ISIL detainees, as well as people killed for
initiating uprisings against ISIL since the beginning of the Mosul operation on
17 October. The corpses are in various states of decomposition, indicating that
ISIL had been using the site as a killing ground for some time. What is clear
is that many more mass killings took place in Hamam al-Alil and other
locations, with victims’ bodies dumped at various locations, including a cement
factory yard, the Tigris River and also reportedly at Mosul airport and in the
Tal-al-Zahab area of Mosul District. Reports also suggest that some of those
killed by ISIL – including at least one former police officer who refused to
sign a paper to ‘repent’ for his ties to the State – were thrown into a well,
known by locals as Khasfa, in Hamam al-Alil sub-district.
Details are also emerging of the use of chemical weapons
by ISIL. On 23 October, four people died after inhaling fumes from burning
sulphur from al-Mishrag Sulphur Gas Factory and Field in the Shura sub-district
of Mosul. The factory was set on fire and shelled by ISIL. ISIL also reportedly
placed sulphur in locations in Shura and set it alight. On 26 October, a
two-month old boy died from asphyxia as a result of emissions from the burning
sulphur. The child reportedly died as his family fled from Shura City towards
al-Qayyarah. In Mosul, reports indicate that large quantities of ammonia and
sulphur have been stockpiled by ISIL and there are reports that these chemicals
are being placed in the same locations as civilians.
Sporadic reports are also emerging of retaliatory
attacks, including allegations of revenge killings by civilians or by forces
under the control of the Iraqi army, as well as of the demolition of houses in
Kirkuk. The High Commissioner welcomed the statement by the Iraqi Prime
Minister that such attacks against civilians and their property are
unacceptable, but he stressed the need for robust, transparent, human-rights
based action by the Government to pre-empt and prevent the reprisals and revenge
killings.
“By referring the situation in Iraq to the International
Criminal Court; by giving Iraqi courts jurisdiction over international crimes;
by reforming the criminal justice system and reinforcing the capacity of
judicial officers to document, investigate and prosecute violations, the
Government of Iraq can ensure justice and secure the foundations for a lasting
peace for the country. Failure to do so may seriously jeopardize the long-term
peace and security that the people of Iraq deserve,” High Commissioner Zeid
said.
UN human rights officers are continuing to monitor the
impact of the armed conflict on civilians, directly and through information
provided by implementing partners and networks of sources. Recently human
rights officers visited al-Jada camp in al-Qayyarah sub-district to monitor the
security screening process being conducted there, and will continue to visit
other sites directly where possible.
The High Commissioner also expressed concern that many
former Government and security personnel who had been living under ISIL rule
have reportedly been instructed that they must register and return to their
posts within a very tight deadline. If they fail to do so, they will be removed
from their jobs. However, the areas where some of these former Government
employees come from have only just been liberated from ISIL, so they are not
yet secure and basic services are not available. Zeid called on the Government
to ensure that adequate security guarantees are in place so that civilians are
not forced to prematurely return to their places of origin.
ENDS
For more information and media requests, please contact
Rupert Colville (+41 22 917 9767 / rcolville@ohchr.org) or Ravina Shamdasani
(+41 22 917 9169 / rshamdasani@ohchr.org ) or Liz Throssell ( +41 22 917 9466/ ethrossell@ohchr.org )
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