(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) the UN Assistant Secretary General (ASG) for Human Rights, Ivan Simonovic said on Monday "tragedy of even greater proportions" in Iraq should be urgently prevented.
"I am extremely concerned at the dramatic human rights consequences of the actions of ISIL and associated armed groups on civilians," Simonovic added in a press release from his office in Geneva marking the conclusion of his week-long mission to Iraq.
In his meetings with the Minister for Human Rights Mohammad Al-Bayati, parliament speaker Dr. Saleem Al-Jabouri, and Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Nechirvan Barzani, Simonovic argued for Iraq's accession to the International Criminal Court Statute, and the immediate acceptance of the ICC's ad-hoc jurisdiction for crimes that have been committed during the ongoing conflict.
"Community leaders, elders, as well as religious authorities, must raise their voices and condemn violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, and demand the care and protection of the victims, no matter their ethnic, religious or other affiliations. The new Iraqi Government seems well-intentioned, but needs broad local and international support to put an end to the atrocities and overcome attempts to divide society and the country," he said.
"Additionally, legislative changes that would provide that war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide are punishable under the criminal laws of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region would send a clear message of the commitment to bring perpetrators of those crimes to justice, irrespective of who they are, their ethnicity, religious belonging or political affiliation," Simonovic said.
"In areas under their control, or where they are engaged in fighting, the Takfiri groups, or so-called ISIL are terrorizing the local population, imposing on them brutal measures based on their extremely radical and wrongful interpretation of Islam, particularly targeting Muslim sects and members of religious and ethnic minorities including Christians, Kaka'ee, Shabaks, Turkmen, Sabaean Mendeans, Yezidis and others," he explained.
"ISIL and associated armed groups have perpetrated widespread and systematic violations of international human rights and international humanitarian law, which in some instances may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity," Simonovic said.
"The atrocities committed systematically and intentionally by ISIL against the Yezidi community, may amount to an attempt to commit genocide. Among countless victims, I met with a twelve year-old girl who escaped sexual slavery, a father whose four sons were murdered because they refused to convert to Islam, and a boy who survived a mass execution', including of his father and brothers, despite being hit by six bullets," Simonovic said.
"ISIL leaves Yezidis no option except to convert or die. Such testimonies are not only evidence of the scale of the crimes being systematically and intentionally committed by ISIL and associated armed groups, but attest to the resilience and bravery of the survivors of these crimes."
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