Joint Statement by NGOs on the Occasion of International Day of Justice, 17 July 2020

A group of non-governmental organizations and agencies working in the field of humanitarian aid and humanitarian assistance issued a joint statement, today, July 17, 2020, on the occasion of the International Day of International Justice "Ezidi 24" received a copy of it, and the statement read:

Following the takeover of Mosul on June 10, 2014, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) began to attack the ethno-religious minorities of northern Iraq, as well as members of the Sunni community who opposed or were perceived to be insufficiently supportive of ISIS and its ideology. In August 2014, ISIS swept across Sinjar and the Nineveh Plains, attacking Yezidis, Christians (including ethnic Assyrians), Turkmen and other ethno-religious minorities. ISIS went to great lengths to destroy the Yezidis, kill men and teenage boys and kidnap thousands of women and children. Little boys were forced to fight for ISIS, and women and girls as young as nine were enslaved and sold as chattels to ISIS.

Those in captivity were subjected to constant sexual violence as part of an organized system of sexual enslavement, beatings and forced labor. ISIS has long spoken about its intention to destroy the Yezidi community, which it insulted as infidels and idolaters. This intention, visible in the violations and public statements by ISIS, is also evident in the group's systematic destruction of the Yezidi religious and cultural heritage. In accordance with the decision of the United Nations Commission of Inquiry, ISIL committed genocide in its multidimensional attacks against the Yezidis, whose suffering continues.

Community cohesion has been significantly eroded, and there is a significant risk that cultural heritage and religious traditions could disappear forever. Countless temples, churches and holy sites have been destroyed while tens of thousands of civilians remain in squalid IDP camps throughout northern Iraq, too afraid to return to their ancestral lands. Nearly 3,000 women and children are still missing, with many believed to be in captivity. The recent attacks by ISIS remnants highlight the grave threat facing civilians in Iraq today.

It is the legal and moral responsibility of all governments to act in accordance with the 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Iraq's new government and the international community must work together to bring ISIS to justice. This includes supporting and working closely with UNITAD in fulfilling its mandate to investigate atrocities and empower survivor groups such as the Yazidi Survivor Network. In addition, all governments must carry out the necessary legal analysis to recognize the genocide and hold accountable their citizens who have joined ISIS and committed atrocities in Iraq and Syria. Prosecution of perpetrators - as in the trial of Taha A.J. in Frankfurt

International Day of Justice should serve as a warning to all those responsible for their heinous crimes and their heinous crimes. ISIS cannot be considered a defeated enemy as long as it continues to evade justice. Now is the time to end impunity.

List of subscribers:

1. Air Bridge Iraq - Luftbrücke Iraq (Germany)

2. Asia Pacific Center for Responsibility to Protect (Australia)

3. Institute of Assyrian Politics (United States of America)

4. Center for Justice and Accountability (United States of America)

5 Central Council of Yezidis in Germany - Zentralrats der Êzîden in Deutschland (Germany)

6. Coalition Against Genocide (UK)

7. Défense Sans Frontière Avocats Solidaires (France)

8. European Center for Responsibility to Protect (UK)

9 Eizid Documentation Organization (Iraq)

10. Families of the missing (United States of America)

11. Free Yezidi Foundation (Iraq / Netherlands)

12. Genocide warning (Germany)

13. Global Center for the Responsibility to Protect (United States of America).

14. HAWAR.help (Germany).

15. Organization of Hope for Women (Iraq).

16. International Council for Diplomacy and Dialogue (France).

17. Jiyan Foundation for Human Rights (Iraq)

18. Minority Rights Group International (United Kingdom)

19. Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Research (Canada)

20. Nadi Initiative (Iraq / United States of America)

21. Nineveh Center for Minority Rights (Iraq)

22 Nukhanovich Foundation (Netherlands)

23. Project Abraham (Canada)

24. Rainbow Child Protection Organization (Iraq)

25. Road to Peace (UK)

26.Sanabel Al Mostakbal (Iraq)

27. Threatened Narcotics Society