Source The United Nations
Media www.rajawalisiber.com – The Special Advisor and Head of the Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da’esh / ISIL – otherwise known as UNITAD – Christian Ritscher, in his briefing to the Security Council today (4 Dec) said, “ISIL perpetrators who committed heinous mass atrocities against Iraqi citizens must not remain unpunished wherever they try to hide.”
Presenting the 11th report detailing the Team’s work over the past six months, Ritscher underscored that his team has significantly contributed to convictions of ISIL defendants throughout the world.
He noted the “large number” of “ISIL foreign fighters who have returned to their countries of origin; ISIL spouses who claim they had no idea about ISIL’s reign of terror, or perpetrators who have fled Iraq to seek safe haven abroad,” and said, “we must not forget that many of those perpetrators were very young when committing their crimes, and may face investigation and charges for international crimes in the decades to come.”
Ritscher said, “we must ensure that those who had the courage to speak-up against ISIL crimes are not let down or left behind; We must make certain that their security is assured, that they are protected, and that the trauma they have endured because of what they have experienced and seen can be addressed; And we must ensure that those who have not spoken up yet, but want to exercise their right to come forward, can do so of their own accord in a safe and welcoming forum.”