A UN mission to investigate ISIS crimes ends its work in Iraq

Iraq – A United Nations mission formed to help Iraq investigate accusations that ISIS committed genocide and war crimes was forced to end its work there early before completing the investigations, after its relationship with the Iraqi government became strained.

Reuters quoted Christian Richter, head of the United Nations investigative team to promote accountability for crimes committed by ISIS (UNITAD), on Wednesday as saying, “Has the work been accomplished?” “Not yet, that is quite clear.”

He added, “We need more time, and if we set a deadline of September 2024, we will not have completed the investigations nor other projects, such as creating a central archive for millions of pieces of evidence.”

For his part, Farhad Alaeddin, advisor to the Iraqi Prime Minister for Foreign Relations, said, “The investigation team is no longer needed from Baghdad’s perspective, and it has not cooperated successfully with the Iraqi authorities, and the mission has not responded to repeated requests to share evidence, and it must do so now before ending its work.” “.

The cancellation of the work of the mission – which was formed in 2017 – comes nearly 10 years after ISIS invaded throughout Syria and Iraq, at a time when many of the organization’s victims are still displaced in camps.

Critics of ending the mission’s work say that this will hinder efforts to hold more ISIS members accountable after the UNITAD team contributed to at least three convictions on charges of genocide and other international crimes in Germany and Portugal.

They also say that this casts doubt on the extent of Iraq’s commitment to holding members of the organization accountable for such crimes at home.