Amal Clooney lauds Iraq letter asking UN to help prosecute IS

NEW YORK (dpa) - Amal Clooney said on Wednesday she hoped a letter from the Iraqi government asking the United Nations to help hold Islamic State accountable for its crimes would mark "the beginning of the end of impunity for genocide."
The British mission to the UN in New York is working with Iraq to prepare a Security Council resolution, which, if approved, would establish a mechanism to investigate and prosecute the extremist militia organization.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim Al-Jaafari outlined his request for UN support in a letter to Secretary General Antonio Guterres last week, which Britain circulated Tuesday.
Victims of Islamic State "want justice in a court of law, and they deserve nothing less," said human rights lawyer Clooney, who represents UN Goodwill Ambassador Nadia Murad.
"I hope that the Iraqi Government’s letter will mark the beginning of the end of impunity for genocide and other crimes that ISIS is committing in Iraq and around the world," Clooney said in a statement, referring to Islamic State.
Investigators from the UN’s human rights inquiry into Syria have also called on the international community to bring Islamic State to justice for the crime of genocide - either by referring the situation to the International Criminal Court or an ad hoc tribunal in a relevant court.
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Friday, August 18th 2017

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